Loving Love
by unknownbyhim22
Summary: Gabriella Montez works at a diner far away from anything related to the stubborn Wildcats at school and unfortunately for her, the peace and quiet is short lived when Troy Bolton starts showing up at the diner for his usual cheeseburger.
1. Sweaty Guy

**Wow, I'm so excited to finally have another story up! I've been doing tons of OneShots to make the wait easier, so I hope you checked those out while you waited for this new story! A lot has happened it seems since "I'll Email You"! School has finally ended, thank goodness, and unfortuantly, the Red Wings didn't win the Stanley Cup. :( I should probably stop talking now though... Enjoy!**

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Gabriella Montez works at a diner far away from anything related to the stubborn Wildcats at school and unfortunately for her, the peace and quiet is short lived when Troy Bolton starts showing up at the diner for his usual cheeseburger. Then, when it finally seems like hating each other is going to become their permanent hobby, something between them changes. Their hate for each other and for anything related to love changes into something they never knew was possible- They might actually end up loving love.

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Loving Love

Chapter One

Sweaty Guy

The apron that was wrapped securely around Gabriella's waist swayed back and forth as she pushed open the kitchen door forcefully so that she'd be able to make it through without dropping anything. She was currently working at Rebecca's Diner, a small corner shop that was miles away from her house and far away from anyone she knew, and that's what she preferred. She didn't want to risk being seen by any of her classmates while she was at work or to be taunted like she was at school.

Rebecca's was a place where she didn't have to worry, a place where the only thing that could bother her was a messed up order and an angry customer, but she could handle things like that. She was good with strangers. Strangers didn't know anything about her other than her name that was printed on her shiny name tag and that was how she wanted it to stay.

Gabriella's hair was pulled up into a pony tail, and as she dumped dirty dishes into the soapy sink a piece of her hair fell from the loose rubber band and she brushed it away quickly, grabbing the plates that were being handed to her by Samantha, one of the cooks who was moving frantically around the kitchen.

Another thing that Gabriella loved about Rebecca's was that the staff consisted of only women, letting them all go about their day without having to be bossed around by unappreciative men.

"Here's your veggie burger and fries, Mrs. Tampa." Gabriella said with a smile, setting her warm plate down in front of the lady that came every Sunday to get the same meal.

"Thanks, sweetheart." She smiled, glancing up at Gabriella who nodded, making sure she had everything she needed before going off to take the order of the young couple across the Diner.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella, I'll be your waitress today, can I start you off with anything to drink?" She asked them, noticing that the couple was sharing a seat instead of each getting their own.

"We'll just have waters." The blonde girl replied, smiling at Gabriella as her boyfriend sat contently next to her.

Gabriella nodded with a smile, gliding towards the kitchen, rolling her eyes as the door closed behind her, gagging dramatically as Samantha and Karen, the restaurant owner and one of the waitresses, laughed with a shake of their heads.

"Can people be anymore disgusting?" Gabriella asked them as she grabbed two cups off of the counter by the stove.

"You're not a normal teenaged girl!" Karen said with a sigh, washing her hands quickly.

"Aren't girls supposed to love love?" Samantha agreed as she added to Karen's statement.

"Awwww, I love love!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes again as Stephanie, another waitress who really did love love walked into the kitchen, swirling and spinning as she hummed a familiar love song quietly.

"Love doesn't work out. Why do you think we're all single?" Gabriella asked the women as she scooped some ice into the cups.

"I am not single, Gabriella." Stephanie said with a shocked look on her face as if Gabriella suggesting anything of the sort was totally out of this world.

Gabriella let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking her head as she thought of the boy Stephanie continued to talk about day after day. She was simply crushing on a guy who was in one of her classes and he still hadn't even asked her out yet.

"Whatever you say." Gabriella sighed, pushing the kitchen door open so that she could tend to her needy customers.

Through the large windows that lined two sides of the restaurant, Gabriella could see that the day was soon coming to an end, the sky darkening as each person in the restaurant finished their meal and left with nothing but small smiles and even smaller tips.

Gabriella stood behind the counter of the bar, wiping off the counters with a warm rag. The coffee pot was boiling quietly behind her and the aroma that it gave off all day long danced around her, making the diner seem even emptier than it already was. There was an older man sitting by himself near the window and his meal was being made by Samantha who was the only one left. Karen and Stephanie had left minutes before, taking off the rest of the day since business was slow.

Gabriella watched as the man looked out the window somewhat sadly, keeping his hands folded around the mug of coffee that Gabriella had just poured him. She tossed the rag on the back counter and leaned against it as she waited for the man's order to be ready and when she heard Samantha say her name in her usual sing-song tone, she walked over to the table, smiling happily to the man as she set his food down.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked him, hearing the bells that were attached to the front door ring.

"No, I think I'm set for now." He replied with a nod, smiling at Gabriella before she turned to serve the next customer.

There was a boy sitting at the bar as Gabriella turned around and his grey shirt was wet with what she assumed was sweat as she made her way towards the counter. His hair was shaggy and his muscular arms could be seen perfectly as they perched on the counter, holding up a menu.

Gabriella yawned subtly, seeing Samantha through the small window that looked on into the kitchen and she pulled out her notepad, stopping when she stood in front of the guy.

"Ready to order?" She asked as she yawned again, looking over at the old man who looked somewhat happier as he ate, paying little attention to the new customer that sat at the counter.

"I'll just have a cheeseburger." The boy said as he started to fold up the menu, keeping his eyes on the nicely designed cover.

Gabriella's eyes moved away from the old man and fell upon a very familiar face, one that made her eyes bulge out of her head and caused her mouth to fall open. He looked up at her finally and looked somewhat surprised when he realized who she was. Gabriella closed her mouth quickly, trying not to give away that she was suddenly at a loss for words.

She turned quickly, trying not to run into the kitchen, and as the swinging door closed behind her she pressed herself tightly up against the wall of the kitchen, closing her eyes so that maybe she'd disappear. She heard Samantha asked if she was okay and opened her eyes to see Samantha peering out of the glassless window, scanning the restaurant.

"Do you see that guy over there?" She whispered quickly.

"The cute old guy by the window?" She asked with a smile, glancing over at a nervous Gabriella.

"No, the sweaty guy at the counter!" Gabriella replied in a whisper, holding her notepad by her chest, trying to stay calm.

"Yeah, I don't see any sweaty guy." Samantha said with a laugh, giving Gabriella an odd look.

Gabriella's eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she walked towards Samantha. She knew that the counter could be seen clearly from the stove, and when she got there she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the boy was no longer there and then she gasped. The old man was out of coffee.

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**Sorry for the short chapter! This one and the next one are the shorter ones, just because they introduce everything. Well, Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	2. Wildcats

**Hey everyone! I'm currently in Long Boat Key Florida on vacation, soaking up the sun, so that's why it's been a while since I've updated last! I thankfully sent this chapter to my laptop so that I'd have it to update while I'm here for all of you! Thanks for the reviews, too! If everyone reviewed who did last time, I'll update when I get home! :) This chapter is short, like the first, but that's just because it's another introduction chapter! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter two

Wildcats

The side of Gabriella's hand throbbed as she closed her locker at school the next day. While peering out the window that looked out through the diner, she hadn't noticed that her hand was sitting on the hot stove top, which resulted in her extreme pain today. There was a bubbly pink blister tattooing her hand temporarily and she frowned as she was hit in the shoulder with the shoulder of one of the pretty cheerleaders that walked the halls of East High. She smiled softly when she saw her good friend Taylor Mckessie, waving at her when she walked into her homeroom.

Setting her books down, Gabriella sighed.

"How's the hand?" Taylor asked with concern, seeing the painful mark on the soft part of her friend's hand.

"The Neosporin that you told me to put on it helped. Hopefully it doesn't scare." Gabriella said as she studied the wound.

"How did you manage not to notice your hand being seared?" Taylor asked with a soft laugh, wondering how her friend was oblivious to such things.

"Well…" Gabriella started unsurely. "Someone from East High came to the diner last night."

"EW, who was it?" Taylor asked as she became immediately interested. She knew that Gabriella didn't like seeing any familiar faces while at work.

"Take a wild guess." Gabriella said as she opened her history book to chapter twenty-two, shaking her head as she thought.

Just as Taylor opened her mouth to reply, a loud noise coming from the group of guys walking into the room burdened the classroom. The girls looked up, seeing Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth walking in with their posse, smug smiles on their faces. Gabriella looked over at Taylor, raising her eyebrows.

"No way." Taylor said in surprise. "Which one was it? Please don't say it was the rude meatball head!"

"Oh, no. It was the leader of the pack." Gabriella said with an eye roll. "He saw me and left. Big surprise. Having me serve him a burger would ruin his reputation."

"Why the heck was he there anyways?" Taylor asked, watching the group as they dispersed throughout the room to their designated seats. "Rebecca's is half way across town."

"He was in workout clothes. I think he might have run there." Gabriella said carelessly.

"Yeah, and I bet he ran home faster when he realized he could have been seen with you." Taylor said in annoyance, seeing Gabriella nod, agreeing with her.

"Let's hope it doesn't happen again." Gabriella said with a sigh. "I see enough of him at school. I don't need to be having surprise sightings of the alpha cat."

Taylor's laugh filled Gabriella's ears as she looked over at Troy who was sitting in the front row, a place where he was assigned to sit after getting into too much trouble while sitting in the back of the classroom. He and Gabriella switched seats and thankfully Taylor moved with her, otherwise she would have been stuck sitting next to Chad.

Troy turned with a laugh to look at Chad who was sitting next to him, wondering if they'd be going to Zeke's after practice for _additional _practice. As he turned he noticed the girl he saw at the diner the day before watching him. He looked away from her immediately and she also glanced away, blushing slightly when she realized she was caught.

Troy had left the diner the second he realized she had seen him there. He didn't want to seem rude, although being rude around her was what she was used to, but he didn't want to get stuck talking to her, or having to be nice, so he had left, and he was somewhat glad that he had, but there was something different about her when she was at the diner. She seemed to be more carefree and to him, she looked like she had a lot more freedom than she did at East High.

***

Gabriella scanned the cafeteria, making sure Taylor was at their table before she had to make the journey through the room crowded with too many hateful people to count. She saw Taylor with the rest of her friends through the small window in the door and opened it to walk towards the table. She weaved through the many people standing around talking and she gasped when she accidentally bumped into someone, feeling a slight pain in her shoulder as their hard shoulder hit hers.

"Sorry!" She said truthfully, turning to see who she had probably bruised.

Her stomach dropped when she saw that it was Troy Bolton she had collided with and he stood there, looking down at her.

"Sorry." She said again, this time less enthusiastically.

"Whatever." He said dully. "You know, I forgot to get a fork for my lunch, do you think you could get me one?" He asked with a snicker.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, turning to leave as she shook her head, seeing her friends watching her walk over to them. She threw her lunch on the table in annoyance and sat down with a huff.

"What'd he say? I'll kick him in the ass with my stiletto!" Sharpay, one of Gabriella's few friends, said as she rose from the table, ready to pounce.

"Shar, it's okay!" Gabriella said quickly, knowing that Sharpay would make a scene if she approached Troy Bolton. "He didn't say anything I haven't heard before."

"I'm sick of East High. Now I understand why you took a job that's miles away from here." Taylor said with a sigh, plopping a chocolate covered pretzel into her mouth, chomping down on it as Sharpay bit into her apple after sitting back down.

"Tell me about it." Sharpay said with her mouth full, wrapping a piece of her long blonde hair around her index finger.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about Troy coming to the diner today. They have an away game today and they won't be around." Gabriella said with a shrug, hoping that Troy's random visit to the diner would be his first and his last.

The girls fell into a comfortable silence as they nodded, rolling their eyes as a bunch of happy cheerleaders bounced past them, shouting something about how the guys would win their game that day. The whole cafeteria buzzed with excitement, except for the three girls in the middle of the cafeteria. Gabriella and her friends weren't into supporting a team who could care less about them and that's why they got up and left when the basketball team started to cheer their annoying Wildcats' cheer.

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**Like it? Review!  
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**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	3. Busy

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the wait... I was going to see if I could get thirty reviews for the second chapter like I did for the first, but after a while I didn't and I didn't want to make you wait any longer! This chapter is MUCH longer and the following chapters are longer too. Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter three

Busy

Gabriella called out about three orders in a row as she leaned towards the kitchen window, taping the paper with the orders on the edge of the counter so that Samantha could see it as she moved around the tiny room, collecting different ingredients. It was Friday night and there was a large group of girls between the ages of ten and eleven who were having some sort of birthday party. Around the restaurant sat random customers who were waiting for their food to be served to them while they tried not to be annoyed by the rambunctious group of girls.

Gabriella jogged gracefully over to the pop machine, pulling out a few cups to start filling up with the array of various pop choices the girls wanted. Putting them on a tray, she carefully carried what felt like one hundred pounds over to the girls and put on a smile as she dealt out the many icy drinks.

"Ready to order?" She asked them once she was done giving them their drinks, pulling out her notepad from her apron.

She glanced at the woman at the end of the table who had an annoyed look on her face, begging whoever it was on the other line to "just bring the presents over already!" and then went back to writing the trillions of orders quickly as the girls speed through what they wanted.

"Orders up!" She heard as she took the short blonde girls order that sat next to the woman on the phone, smiling as she left the table.

"Where is Stephanie?" She hissed in a whisper as she grabbed the plates from Samantha in the kitchen, glancing out into the restaurant from the window.

"She took a personal day." Samantha explained as she tossed on some frozen beef patties onto the grill.

"A personal day!" Gabriella exclaimed in an angry whisper. "I'm going to kill her." She said before she pushed open the door, walking towards the table that the old man from the week before, George was his name, sat.

"Here you go, George. Nice to see you again." Gabriella smiled, remembering that Karen had served him that morning.

"Got your hands full?" He asked with a laugh, seeing her distracted smile as she set his food in front of him.

"All the waitresses are mysteriously missing." Gabriella replied with a laugh, walking away after refilling his coffee.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella; can I take your order?" She asked a new couple who had just sat down; trying not to rush them since they didn't even have their coats off yet.

"We'll have waters for now, but we need a few more minutes to figure out what we want." The man in his early thirties said with a smile, grabbing a menu.

"Okay." Gabriella sighed, turning around to get their waters and grab the food that was now ready as Samantha called her name.

Sweat was slowly appearing on her forehead as Gabriella rushed around the restaurant, trying not to forget any customers while she tried to keep the birthday party under control and quiet. The bell that hung from the front door rang and Gabriella was just taking the plates from the old man's table when she had time to see who had come. There were two guys standing at the door, holding piles of birthday gifts that covered their faces and they were trying not to drop them as the group of girls cheered. Gabriella rolled her eyes at the noise and went into the kitchen, throwing the dishes into the sink, quickly and thoroughly washing them in the soapy water.

"Why are we the only ones ever here?" Gabriella asked Samantha as she dried off the dishes, turning to see Samantha arranging cheeseburgers carefully.

"I don't know, honey, but we need to start going faster if we want to survive this night!" She said as she handed Gabriella plates of food and a plate with pie on it for George.

"This would be easy if I was athletic." She said, making Samantha laugh as she pushed open the door, stopping in her tracks when she saw the two guys at the birthday party table.

Troy Bolton and Zeke Baylor were setting the gifts on the tables and they didn't seem to notice her as she walked quickly past them, trying her best not to drop the plates in her hands.

"Do you want anything else?" She asked the family sitting at the booth by the bathrooms, setting their food out in front of them.

"I think we're set." The mom of the group said with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked slowly, not wanting to turn around because Zeke and Troy would see her the second time passing the table.

"Yeah…" The woman said with a small laugh, wondering why her waitress looked nervous.

"Okay." Gabriella squeaked, turning with a deep breath, sighing when she saw the backs of her classmates to her, tiptoeing behind them so she wouldn't go noticed by them.

"Can we have some more napkins?!" One of the girls asked loudly, looking in Gabriella's direction, which caused Troy and Zeke to turn to see who the girl was talking to.

Gabriella glanced at each of them, trying not to look like she knew them at all and nodded as she went behind the counter, grabbing a chunk of napkins before walking back to the table. She set them in the middle of the table, seeing that both Troy and Zeke were watching her from the other side of the table.

"Troy, Zeke, sit down!" The woman who had been on the phone earlier said with a smile. "I'm sure the girls would love for you to stay."

"Yeah, bro, at least look like you love me." A brunette girl with a feathery crown placed on her head said with a smile.

"There aren't any chairs and plus, Zeke and I were…" Troy started, not wanting to stay for his sister's birthday party.

"I can get you some chairs." Gabriella said with an eyebrow raise, seeing Troy's annoyed glare that was directed her way. Zeke stood with his hands in his pockets, observing the group of girls.

"Thank you." The brunette girls said with a smile, looking over at Gabriella happily.

Troy watched as Gabriella disappeared through the kitchen, rolling his eyes as his sister's friends made room for the both of them. There were a lot more people at the diner compared to when he came last. Not only were there a lot of people, but Gabriella looked like she was the only one working. When she came back, she basically shoved the chairs at Troy and walked away without as much as a glance before going back to the kitchen.

"Table nine wants another order of onion rings." Gabriella told Samantha as she took two plates from her.

"Kill me!" Samantha exclaimed as she went over to the fryer.

Gabriella laughed for the first time that evening and got all of the food out to the different customers around the room. Each time she went to go to the left side of the diner she had to ask Troy to move his chair because it was blocking her path and each time she got a dirty glare from him.

"Do you girls want refills?" She asked the birthday party table, smiling softly when the girls nodded enthusiastically.

She came back with a pitcher of Sprite and started to refill the girls' drinks. As she was almost done, Coach Bolton walked into the diner, smiling as he saw his family and his daughter's friends all sitting around the table. He was in a Police uniform, which surprised Gabriella since whenever he saw him he was in Wildcat sweatpants and t-shirts. She assumed the coaching job was his permanent job. He hugged the brunette girl and gave the woman at the end of the table a kiss before sitting down next to her. He smiled at Gabriella as she tried not to stare at him.

"Well, hello, Miss Montez, I didn't know you worked here." He said in surprise, just now noticing her._ Big surprise_. The woman next to him, who Gabriella now assumed was Mrs. Bolton, gave Troy a wondering look.

"Hi, Coach Bolton." She said awkwardly as she nodded, filling the last of the girl's drinks. "Do you want anything?"

"You know, I think I'm up for a cheeseburger." He said confidently, putting his arm over the back of Mrs. Bolton's chair.

"Do you guys want anything?" She asked Zeke and Troy in a monotone, keeping her eyes on her notepad.

"Cheeseburgers." They said at the same time, laughing slightly after.

"Coming right up." Gabriella said, turning to see Samantha coming out of the kitchen, her face pale.

"Gabi, we have a problem." She said in a whisper.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked, noticing the girls at the table in the middle of the diner looking at her.

"I cut my finger. I need to go to the emergency room." She said in a whisper.

"It can't be that bad, can it?!" Gabriella asked, trying not to gag as Samantha held up her finger that was basically being held together by the towel around it. The girls watching at the table gasped loudly at the sight.

"Okay, just go!" Gabriella said quickly.

"What about you?" Samantha asked as she walked towards the door of the diner. "You can't cook and be the only waitress!"

"I'm sure it won't be too bad!" Gabriella called after her as she left without waiting to hear Gabriella's reply.

"So about those cheeseburgers…" Gabriella said awkwardly to the birthday party table, trying not to look as if she was about to panic, but truthfully she really was about to.

"What's up?" Mr. Bolton asked her as she stood with her hands on her hips, looking extremely embarrassed.

"I'm the only waitress here and the cook is now going to the emergency room so…" Gabriella tried to explain, sighing stressfully.

"Baylor, Bolton help her out!" He ordered, causing Zeke to stand up immediately and Troy to look at him in shock.

"What?!" Troy asked in surprise, glancing at Gabriella quickly.

"If a fellow Wildcat needs help, help them out." He said seriously, giving Troy an angry look when he didn't stand up after hearing his statement.

"Apparently that doesn't apply to me." Gabriella mumbled under her breath, seeing Zeke snicker softly, being the only one who heard her.

"I can cook." Zeke said with a soft smile, seeing her somewhat relax.

After thanking him, Gabriella took him into the kitchen and showed him everything he'd need. Zeke seemed to be extremely excited about cooking and she wondered why as she walked out of the kitchen, seeing an angry Troy walking towards her.

"Don't tell me what to do and everything will work out perfectly." Troy said through gritted teeth, sending his family a fake smile.

"Get on an apron, give table three their drinks, and don't tell _me _what to do." Gabriella smiled innocently. "And I think everything will work out perfectly if you stay out of my way." She said, moving past him as she went to clear the plates off of the two empty tables by the bathrooms.

The girls giggled as Troy came over to them with an apron tied around his waist, taking away their plates as Gabriella gave table three the drinks that Troy didn't give them.

"Move." Gabriella said to Troy as she moved around him with plates of food.

"Die." Troy said under his breath, filling up drinks for his sister's friends.

"You first." Gabriella said as she smiled at a few leaving customers, setting down food for those who still remained.

"Orders up!" Zeke said excitedly.

Troy looked at Zeke through the window in disbelief from his spot behind the counter and shook his head when he only shrugged. Troy took a woman's order who was sitting at the bar and tossed Zeke the order unenthusiastically.

"Why are you so excited?" Troy asked Zeke as he leaned against the counter, watching as Gabriella said goodbye to a few more customers, cleaning the tables by the windows.

"Come on, dude, this is pretty fun! Plus, everyone loves my burgers." Zeke said with a smile, calling for Gabriella as he finished a few more orders.

"I'm not paying you to stand around." Gabriella said as she took the plates from Zeke, glaring at Troy.

"You're not paying me!" Troy said angrily, crossing his arms over his chest as the woman asked for a straw for her water.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she gave the woman a straw when Troy pretended not to hear her and she thanked Zeke again for cooking the food when she walked away. Zeke glanced over at Troy who watched Gabriella and smiled to himself.

Troy's dad and mom laughed as Gabriella chucked a wet towel at Troy, leaving a dark mark on his navy blue t-shirt and he threw it back at her harshly as he went to tell his sister's friends to stop making so much noise.

"Are you leaving yet?" He asked his family, wanting to go before he seriously injured Gabriella for continuously telling him what to do.

"Are we embarrassing you?" Mrs. Bolton asked with a laugh.

"I want to get out of here." Troy said in annoyance, grabbing the noise maker his sister was using out of her hand in anger.

"No need to be a grouch." His sister pouted.

"Shut up, Bailey." He said to her as he untied his apron and tossed it on the counter. "I'll see you later."

Gabriella glanced out the window as she cleaned off the tables when she saw Troy storming down the sidewalk, walking towards the parking lot next to the diner. She raised her eyebrows, rolling her eyes as she carried the dirty dishes she had collected into the kitchen, putting them into the sink. She was in the middle of washing the dishes when she heard Zeke.

"You know, he's not as bad as he seems."

Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion and looked over at Zeke who was wiping off the stove so that it looked clean again.

"Yeah right." She said with a laugh of disbelief. "And what about you?"

"I've been told I'm the nice one out of the bunch." He laughed. "I'm not in to hurting other people."

"So what Sharpay says is true." She laughed.

"Sharpay?" Zeke asked quickly.

Gabriella glanced over at him, seeing the blush on his cheeks as he stood at the stove.

"Yeah, she's in your cooking class. She said you're really nice." She said with a smile, seeing him shift awkwardly in his spot.

"Oh… yeah… well." He shrugged.

Gabriella laughed quietly as she dried the dishes that were piled on the counter and after another half an hour, Zeke left with the birthday party guests and Gabriella was by herself again.

***

Now the diner was only home to George who had come back for his evening coffee. Gabriella sat at the counter, arranging all of the receipts that had accumulated that day in order to calculate how much they had made that day. Samantha called her earlier, telling her that she was okay and Gabriella assured her that everything had gone fine while she was gone. The familiar sound of the bells on the door jingle and Gabriella stood from her seat, turning to see who the customer was. Her relaxed expression changed to a tense frown as she saw Troy Bolton coming in.

"Sorry, no job applications." She said seriously, walking around the counter so that there was a good distance between them as he rolled his eyes.

"No thank you." He replied rudely, shaking his head. "My sister left her coat here. I was wondering if you found it."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, wondering why he was willing to come all the way back here just for his sister's coat. She nodded, leaving him without a word to go into the kitchen where she had put the coat that Bailey had left behind.

"Here." She said as she tossed him the coat, seeing him catch it with ease as he sat on a bar stool, waiting.

Gabriella went back into the kitchen so that she didn't have to be around him and tossed a hamburger patty onto the grill so that she could finally have something to eat after her long evening. The heat from the stove warmed her face and she tossed a few left over fries into the basket, walking out of the kitchen after shutting all of the appliances off. She rolled her eyes yet again when she saw that Troy Bolton was still sitting at the counter.

"Why are you still here?" She asked him curtly.

Troy looked up at her after setting the salt shaker he was playing with down.

"Are you kidding? There are fifteen eleven year olds in my living room singing to Hannah Montana." He said almost in horror. "I'd resort to seeing you _again_ than to witnessing that any longer."

"I'm flattered." Gabriella said sarcastically, shoving the basket with her juicy cheeseburger with fries in front of him before grabbing the coffee pot off of the counter.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, looking at the food.

"You've asked for a cheeseburger twice. It's about time you get one." She said with annoyance clear in her voice, leaving to fill George's coffee cup.

When she came back her cheeseburger was untouched by Troy, and she shook her head as she sat in the seat next to him, going back to the receipts that she had abandoned when Troy came in.

She was using a calculator to add up the receipts when the basket was pushed against her arm. She subtly glanced at it, seeing half of the cheeseburger sitting there, obviously ripped in half and she sat up slowly from her bent over position, looking over at Troy who had the other half in his hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked him like he had asked her minutes before.

"I'm watching you eat it so I know it's not poisoned." He said, waiting for her to pick up the food before he ate it.

"You're an idiot." She said as she picked up her half, taking a big bite of it, making sure to open her mouth to show off all of the chewed up food to him before she swallowed it. "There, it's fine."

"How do I know that this half isn't poisoned?" He asked seriously.

"Are you really that paranoid?" She asked him, taking the other half from his hand quickly.

She took a bite of the burger, clicking away at the calculator as she handed it back to Troy, who took it and surprisingly ate it even after her mouth had been on it. She wrote the total of all of the receipts on the last bill and straightened out the stack, taking another bite of the cheeseburger before standing up and putting them into the cash register.

George walked over to Gabriella and handed her a ten dollar bill, telling her to keep the change before he made his way out of the restaurant. Troy watched as Gabriella put the ten dollar bill into the register and closed it without counting out the change that she would have gotten as a tip.

"Aren't you going to keep the change?" Troy asked as he ate a fry.

"No." Gabriella said with a shake of her head, going around the counter so that she could start stacking the chairs on top of the tables.

"You really are a loser, aren't you?" Troy asked as he spun in the bar stool so that he could see her.

"Well, you're not much of a winner, so would that make me your equal?" Gabriella said coldly, lifting the chairs with ease.

"You wish!" Troy said with a laugh, irritating Gabriella once again.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to be anything like you."

"You know that's a lie as much as I do." Troy said with a small smile, continuing to watch Gabriella.

"You don't know me at all." Gabriella said tiredly, hating that Troy thought he knew her and that he was talking to her in the first place.

"And I don't want to know anything about you." He said as he stood, grabbing Bailey's coat that was on the back of his chair. The pinkness of the coat looked out of place against his varsity jacket as he walked towards the door.

"I'll try not to see you around." He said as he opened the door.

"And I'll try not to start the rumor that you spent your Friday night singing Hannah Montana with a bunch of eleven year olds." Gabriella said to him, hearing the door close behind him as her statement came to an end.

Gabriella shoved a chair harshly across the room, taking her anger out on it as she thought about Troy Bolton. She didn't want to see him here again, she didn't care what he thought of her and she definitely didn't see him watching her take her anger out on the stupid chair.

* * *

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**unknownbyhim22**


	4. Get Hit By a Bus

**Hey everyone! Sorry that it took a while to update. I was waiting to see if I could get thirty reviews, but I got really close to it, so I'm updating now! I'm thinking I'll update every Tuesday... how does that sound? FYI, I changed my picture on my profile to one that fits this story... and my sister surprised me with a YouTube video trailer for this story! Go to YouTube(dot)com(slash/)twinsplusone3 and click on the video that's titled "Loving Love". Then if you want to, you can mention that you're from FanFiction when you leave a comment. ;) Well, I hope you all Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter four

Get Hit by a Bus

The sound of the piece of gum Sharpay was chewing smacking against her lips was heard as she, Gabriella, and Taylor sat at a round table in East High's library. Gabriella glanced up at Sharpay with a soft giggle as she saw the pink substance on Sharpay's lips. Taylor sighed as she read a book for her English class, a pen secured tightly in her hand by her fingers as she took careful notes as each sentence passed in her mind. Shifting in her spot, Taylor flipped the page in her book only to have it suddenly torn out of her hands; the only thing left in front of her was her black pen.

"Hey!" She said angrily, her focus now broken as she turned around in her chair to see who had so rudely taken the book away from her.

She glared evilly as she saw Chad standing coolly behind her, the book closed in his hand.

"I've been looking for this book everywhere and I heard this was the last one here." He said meanly, raising his eyebrows as Taylor stood up from her chair, extending her hand so that he'd hand over the book.

"Please give it back." Taylor started nicely, wanting the dumb jock to have a change of heart. "I've been working on this essay for weeks and I'm almost done."

"I don't care how long you've been working on it for." He said, turning to leave.

"Give it back to her!" Gabriella said loudly, standing up from her chair.

Taylor gave her a forget-about-it-look as she went to sit back down, but Gabriella wasn't about to let Chad get away with being mean to her best friend yet again. She grabbed the small book that she had been reading and called his name again, giving him one more chance to give it back, but when he didn't, she threw the book right at his back, watching as it hit him between the shoulders, causing him to stop.

Chad felt a sharp object pierce his back and he stopped quickly, his face becoming red with anger as he turned slowly. He saw Gabriella standing with her arms over her chest with a similar angry expression on her face that he had. Taylor and Sharpay sat wide eyed as they watched Chad march back over to the table, coming uncomfortably close to Gabriella.

"You just threw your life away." He hissed as he went to grab her arm harshly, but she slapped his arm away from her, glaring at him.

"No, I just threw my book at you." She replied, swiftly grabbing the book that he had stolen from Taylor out of his clenched hand, throwing it on the table between Sharpay and Taylor.

They both sat speechless still as the book was taken back and Sharpay stood up quickly when Chad grabbed Gabriella's arms, only the three of them anticipating the pain he was always able to cause.

"I dare you." Gabriella whispered to him, seeing his angry brown eyes become darker.

"Hey, Chad!" They heard a voice yell across the library, making their attention be directed towards the front of the library.

The students in the library that had been enjoying the peace and quiet were now looking up from their books in annoyance as Troy Bolton jogged around the tables and rows of books towards Chad.

"Oh, no." Taylor whispered under her breath, hoping that Troy wouldn't help his best friend out with his bullying.

"What are you doing, dude? You're going to be late for practice." Troy said as he stopped his jog, standing next to Sharpay's chair as she stood, ready to pounce if she had to.

"This freak over here threw a book right at me." Chad explained, his grip on Gabriella tightening as if a new surge of anger pulsed through him.

"We can take care of her later, man, but the last time you were late the whole team had to run extra miles." Troy said, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him away from Gabriella.

Gabriella's head started to hurt as Chad's rough hands slid away from her arms and his harsh glare left her direction. Sharpay sat down slowly as Troy and Chad walked away, breathing a sigh of relief. Taylor swore out loud as she took the book from the table and threw it into her backpack.

Troy waited until Chad was a few steps ahead of him before he turned to look behind him. Gabriella was still standing behind Taylor's chair, her expression somewhat shocked as they both made eye contact. He looked away as Taylor and Sharpay looked over at him as well and left the library with Chad.

Gabriella swallowed quickly, feeling her throat become dry as she sat down in the chair next to Taylor. Taylor looked over at her, running a hand over her stressed looking face.

"What the heck were you thinking?" Taylor asked her friend seriously.

"I'm sick of being push around and I know both of you are too." Gabriella replied, closing her math binder and putting it in her backpack.

"Gabriella, you can't stand up to any of the jocks!" Sharpay told her, her smooth hands resting on the table, showing off her pink finger nails.

"I'm tired of coming to school afraid of what's going to happen, girls!" Gabriella said sadly. "I'm not taking it anymore and I don't care about what might happen."

"What if Troy had stepped in, Gabriella? All of us could have gotten hurt. At least let it go for us." Taylor said quietly, looking at her angry friend sadly.

Gabriella felt tears appear in her eyes as her friends looked at her with hope that she'd let them do what they wanted for their sake and she nodded slowly.

"Okay." She said softly. "I won't do anything… I'll talk to you later. I have to go to work." She added, standing up and leaving her friends as they went back to their work, unsure if Gabriella was serious and unaware of the fact that Gabriella was hoping that Troy Bolton would show up at the diner that evening.

***

Gabriella laughed as Stephanie sang along to the music that could be heard in the diner as she wiped off the counter. Stephanie twirled past her with a giggle as she went into the kitchen to toss the dirty plates that she had collected into the soapy sink. Gabriella walked over to the front door of the diner and started to wipe the smudges and finger prints off of the glass. Humming softly to the song, Gabriella smiled at leaving customers, holding the door open for them so they didn't touch the now spotless door.

Gabriella's eyes fell from a happy position to an austere squint as she saw Troy Bolton walking down the sidewalk, a backpack slung over his shoulder as his grey t-shirt had a faint appearance of sweat. He had on a suspicious smile as he slowed by the door, surprised that she was still holding the door open.

He held up his hand, as if ready to give her a high five and her face contorted into a yeah-right-what-the-hell-are-you-doing look, but her expression changed quickly as he pressed his hand against the clean window, leaving a sweat _paw print_ on the glass.

"Jerk." Gabriella said under her breath, not wanting the leaving customers to hear her as Troy chuckled, walking over to the counter, setting his backpack in the chair next to him.

Gabriella set the spray bottle of glass cleaner in the cabinet under the counter and she glanced over at Troy who was flipping through his math book, trying to find a certain page. She grabbed her notepad out of her apron pocket and walked over to him, putting a hand on her hip as she waited for him to notice her. She looked at the clock on the wall. This could take a while.

A daily customer waved at Gabriella before opening the front door of the diner and Gabriella smiled, waving back.

"Bye, have a good day." She said happily, looking back at Troy when he spoke.

"Why don't you tell me to have a good day when I leave?" He asked with a playful grin, knowing the obvious reason.

"Because I don't want you to have a good day. I want you to get hit by a bus and be splattered all over the pavement." She snapped, seeing Stephanie give her a weird look as she walked by the feuding pair.

Troy laughed softly because she was already angry with him. He looked back at his math book, starting to work on a problem as she left quickly, going about her usual tasks before setting a glass of water next to his book.

"I don't want water." He replied, glancing up from his book at the icy drink. He had chugged down a bottle of water after his intense practice and didn't exactly want anymore.

"Well, you can't get everything you want." Gabriella replied, filling up some cups with ice for a few customers across the diner.

"Unless you're me and you _do_ get everything you want. And I want you to get me a straw." Troy said as he leaned against the counter, folding his arms over the mess of work that was in front of him.

"Stephanie can you come here?" Gabriella asked Stephanie as she was passing her.

Stephanie smiled at her, coming over to her happily.

"Will you give him a straw?" Gabriella asked her while giving Troy a shrewd look.

"Why, can't you?" Stephanie asked in confusion, looking at her friend who obviously didn't care for the guy in front of her.

"Just do it, please." Gabriella smiled, waiting until Stephanie set a straw on the counter by Troy's water and disappeared behind the kitchen door.

"Oh, poor guy. I'm sorry it didn't work out how you wanted it to." Gabriella said in a voice as if she was talking to a sick puppy.

Troy shook his head, laughing slightly as he watched Gabriella turn around to look through the kitchen window. She leaned against the back counter, saying something to Samantha who stood at the stove and Troy's eyes wander down to her arms. On the soft part of her upper arms were deep red marks that looked like they were in the shape of nails. He could tell that they were painful by the redness that surrounded it and he looked away quickly as Gabriella turned around.

"Do you want anything?" She asked him, taken back slightly when she saw the way he was looking at her.

"Oh, um, I'll just have a cheeseburger." He said to her, looking away when she gave him a suspicious look, going back to his math.

"Okay…" Gabriella said slowly, turning and telling Samantha his order before going to take care of the rest of her customers.

Troy was in the middle of a complicated geometry problem when his food was set down next to him, the smell of the hot food rising towards him. He looked up to see Gabriella getting a chunk of napkins from next to the coffee pot, setting them by him just in case he needed them.

"Thanks." He said, plopping a fry in his mouth as he looked at his math book.

"You're welcome, but I guess I could also thank you." Gabriella said as she cleared dirty plates off of the counter, setting them onto the back counter for Stephanie to collect later.

"Why's that?" Troy asked as he ripped his cheeseburger in half, biting down on the half that was in his hand.

Gabriella glanced up at him as she wiped the counter off next to him and shrugged, sighing quietly.

"For stopping Chad before he could beat the crap out of me." Gabriella explained, feeling her neck become hot as she remembered Chad's angry expression.

Troy shifted in his chair, staying quiet as he chewed, glancing at her.

"No need to thank me, I honestly didn't want him to be late." Troy said, making Gabriella feel completely stupid for assuming he had stopped Chad for her.

"Right." Gabriella nodded, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear as it fell from her ponytail.

"Besides, I'm sure Chad wouldn't have beaten the crap out of you." Troy said through his mouth full of food.

"Yeah, right. I've experienced getting the crap beaten out of me from a few of your other teammates, so I'm sure he would do the same." Gabriella said with an eye roll, leaning against the back counter after seeing that her customers were still eating happily.

"I bet you this half of my cheeseburger," Troy started, pointing to the other half. "That he wouldn't hurt you." He said as he put another fry in his mouth.

Gabriella shook her head, not believe him as she held up her arm, showing Troy the deep nail marks that Chad had left in her skin. Troy shrugged as if he'd seen worse and Gabriella let her arm fall back to her side.

"I should have bet my math book on it, not my food." Troy said as he moved the basket closer to her, sighing.

Gabriella laughed, happy to take the food from him because that way he'd be paying full price for something he only ate half of. She watched as he went back to his math now that his food was gone, and she went into the kitchen with her half of the cheeseburger, waiting for the door to close behind her before she smiled.

"Okay, who's the hottie at the counter and where can I get one my age?" Samantha asked with a soft laugh as Gabriella leaned against the counter next to the sink where Stephanie was washing the dishes.

"What hottie?" Gabriella asked as if she honestly didn't know who she was referring to.

"The one you're sharing food with." Stephanie said with a smile, giving Gabriella a teasing look as she splashed her with some water.

"Oh, that guy, well, I hate him." Gabriella told them seriously, taking another bit of the burger.

"Just like you hate love?" Stephanie said dully, wondering why she was the only one who believed in true love and happily ever afters.

"Just like I hate love." Gabriella smiled, glad she understood.

"One day you will love love." Stephanie told her surely, starting to dry the dishes that were stacked next to Gabriella.

"One day I will not." Gabriella said to her, smiling as she ate the last piece of the burger, pushing herself off of the counter to go check on her customers.

She smiled when she saw that George had arrived while she was in the kitchen and watched as Karen took his order. Karen walked over to the kitchen window after talking to George shortly with a smile clear on her face. There was something different about the way she called out the order to Samantha and Gabriella raised her eyebrows suspiciously as she looked into the kitchen after giving new water to Troy.

"What's with you?" Samantha asked Karen with a smile.

"I met someone!" Karen told them, laughing as both Samantha and Stephanie gasped dramatically, squealing with Karen who was looking like a very happy thirty-five year old.

"Of course." Gabriella mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes as Troy looked up from his book as he heard the crazy women.

"Are you jealous or something?" Troy asked as he saw Gabriella looking at them disjointedly.

"Furthest from it." Gabriella replied quickly, looking away from her older friends.

"Aren't nerds always hopeless romantics?" Troy asked her, blowing off the eraser bits that had accumulated on his paper. Gabriella glared at him slightly when they blew all over her shirt.

"Not this one." Gabriella replied as she brushed off the eraser bits from her shirt.

"Did you just admit that you were a nerd?" Troy asked with a smirk, finding it funny that she was going along with his insult.

"Some things you know are true." Gabriella told him, looking at the mess of papers in front of him. "And I know I would have definitely finished that math homework in twenty minutes." She said, insulting his intelligence somewhat.

"It's not my fault that I'm distracted." He said as he closed his book loudly, causing a few people around the diner to look up from their food at him.

"Distracted by what?" Gabriella asked in confusion.

Troy paused, taking in a deep breath and releasing it before he replied.

"You're right; you would have finished it in twenty minutes." He said with a nod, pushing his stuff into his backpack and closing it.

Gabriella gave him a wondering look and he pulled out a ten dollar bill from his backpack, setting it on the counter before turning for the door. Gabriella took the money and walked over to the cash register, glancing up at Troy who was standing in the middle of the diner.

"What do you say?" He said, giving her a humorous look.

"I hope you don't have a good day, get hit by a bus for me!" She said in a very nice voice, waving to him with a smile.

"We'll work on it." Troy said with a smile, pushing the door open, not using the handle but instead pushing his hands against the clean glass, leaving a pair of Troy Bolton hand prints on the door before he left.

Gabriella shook her head and cleared away the mess he left on the counter, stopping for a minute to look at the hand prints he left behind and she couldn't help but notice the smile that was forming on her tired face.

* * *

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**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	5. Hypothetically

**Hey everyone! So. I could not make you all wait until Tuesday to get another update because seriously within a day of having chapter four up I go all the reviews I wanted... and I got over thirty! So thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're getting this early! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter five

Hypothetically

Gabriella rolled out of bed tiredly, seeing the light from the morning sun shimmering through her balcony doors. She ran a hand through her hair, going over to her bathroom to take a quick shower so that she could start her Saturday off nicely.

After showering, getting dressed in a green sun dress that laid just above her knees and eating the breakfast that her mom had made her, she grabbed the keys to her car and headed towards the bookstore that she visited once in a while with her pay check. Her damp curly hair laid on her shoulders as the bright sun was shielded by her sunglasses and she smiled as she parked her car, happy to spend a day alone with no one to bother her.

She walked into the large store, smelling the crisp smell of freshly printed pages and looked over the books on the tables by the front doors before heading over to the American Literature section. She had a basket with her already, knowing that she was currently out of good books to read and that she'd be buying more than a few.

After about fifteen minutes, Gabriella already had three books in her basket that she was going to buy and two books in her hand that she was still deciding on. As she twirled a piece of her long hair around her finger, she could have sworn she heard Troy Bolton's voice.

She pressed her palm to her forehead, wondering if she was coming down with some kind of illness that had her hearing this boy's voice because lately it had been happening…

"What would you suggest I assign my students to read this semester? I couldn't keep them interested last semester and I'm sure you have a few ideas since you're a student yourself." She heard a woman's voice say from behind her.

"Well, _The Great Gatsby_ is in my opinion the only book that can keep me interested while at school, so I would recommend that one, unless you're looking for something like _To Kill a Mocking Bird_, that one's decent." She heard Troy's voice say in response.

Gabriella bit her lip, hoping to hear their voices soften as they walked away, but they only became louder as she realized she was standing right in front of _The Great Gatsby _books.

"Excuse me." She heard Troy say politely.

Gabriella sucked in a breath, scooting over a few steps because she'd have to face him if she turned around to leave, and she glance subtly next to her where Troy was plucking the book off of the shelf for the woman.

"Well, thank you so much, sir, you helped a lot." She said to him, and Gabriella tried to concentrate on the names of the books in front of her instead of eavesdropping on Troy.

"No problem." Troy said, clearly smiling as his happy tone floated towards Gabriella.

Gabriella looked in the opposite direction and notice that the woman was walking away and as she started to pray that Troy Bolton had also left the section she was in, she heard him speak.

"Can I help you look for anything?" He asked her.

Gabriella's eyes widened, noticing that she was only like an inch away from the shelf of books, trying to go unnoticed. Now she probably looked like she was trying to see if the books were scratch and sniff! She felt herself blush as she turned away from the shelf and held in a laugh when Troy Bolton look completely shocked.

"Holy shit!" He said to her, not even noticing that the hot girl in the sun dress was her at first. "I did not recognize you!"

"That explains the politeness." Gabriella mumbled, holding the books that she was still deciding on close to her chest.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her quickly, the blush that also appeared on his face disappearing slowly.

"Buying books… what are you doing here?" She asked him in the same tone he used with her, wanting to disappear as he looked at the books held to her chest and the books in her basket.

"I work here." He replied shortly, running a hand over his eyes as he sighed stressfully.

"Do your friends know that?" Gabriella asked with a laugh, surprised herself at seeing Troy Bolton at a book store.

"Unfortunately." He answered, stretching his arm out towards the shelf of the book case next to him, leaning to the side as he talked to her. "They made fun of me for weeks, but then I got them free coffee here, so they accepted it."

"Why do you work here?" Gabriella asked, expecting that answer from him.

"Why? Am I not allowed to sell books to people?" He asked her, raising his right eyebrow slightly.

"I guess I just didn't expect you to work here."

"Now you see my surprise when I walked into Rebecca's and you were my waitress." He replied, standing from his leaning position as he fixed an out-of-place book.

"At least you didn't run away from me when you realized." Gabriella said with an awkward nod, setting one of the books that she had in her hand back on the shelf. As this event occurred she decided she wouldn't want to read about a hot guy who worked at a bookstore.

Troy nodded with a chuckle, seeing her toss a book back on the counter quickly.

"So, you liked _The Great Gatsby_? You slept during that class while we read it." Gabriella asked curiously, shifting in her spot as she shivered slightly, the air conditioning cooling her hot skin that was exposed by her sun dress.

"Nah, I was just trying to sell a book." He replied honestly.

"I figured." Gabriella nodded, seeing Troy give her a playful look since she already had him all figured out.

They were quiet for a minute, glancing around the store so they wouldn't make too much eye contact when they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Troy! Do you have a free coffee for me? I stayed up all night with that cheerleader, if you know what I mean."

Gabriella's eyes widened quickly when she saw Chad turn the corner, coming face to face with a much different looking Chad. He had on a purple t-shirt that had the Chucky Cheese logo on the pocket and she sucked in a laugh as he stopped talking, seeing her.

"Someone told me Troy was over here!" Chad said, glaring at her. "What the hell." He said, looking around the area.

Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion and looked over to where Troy was just standing and saw that he was gone. Her eyes widened again when she saw him crawling on the floor behind Chad, putting a finger next to his lips, indicating that he couldn't be given away.

"What's up with the outfit, Chad?" Gabriella asked meanly, seeing Troy stand up behind a book shelf, walking over casually as if he wasn't just having a conversation with Gabriella.

"I make good money." Chad spat, continuing to glare at her.

"Hey, man! What's up?" Troy asked her, glancing at Gabriella.

Gabriella started to walk towards them, wanting to wedge her way through the space between Chad and the book shelf so that she could leave.

"Excuse me." She said to him, glancing at him as she held her book securely.

"Make me, nerd." He hissed, already angry that he had to see someone he hated seeing on a regular day on his Saturday morning.

"Be careful, Chad. You wouldn't want another book thrown at you, would you?" She asked, glaring equally evilly back at him.

"You know what…"

"I heard you say something about a free coffee?" Troy said quickly, grabbing Chad's arm, pulling him with him as he walked towards the back of the store. "I think I could use one too."

Gabriella watched as Chad and Troy walked together to the back of the store, both of them in their dorky work clothing and she laughed to herself, taking her books and loaded pay check to the cash register, ready to get away from any chance she had of having an encounter with another crazy wildcat.

***

Gabriella set the bag of books she had bought at the book store down on the kitchen counter, sliding into the tall chair by the island. Ms. Montez smiled at her daughter as she turned from the dishwasher where she was loading dirty dishes into it and noticed the confused look on Gabriella's face.

"Get any good books?" She asked her, wiping her wet hands dry with a dish towel.

"A few." Gabriella replied shortly, putting her hand under her chin as she leaned against the counter.

"Everything okay?" Ms. Montez asked with a small smile.

"Can I ask you something?" Gabriella asked, sighing as she pulled out the many book she had bought from the plastic bag.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"I have this friend," Gabriella started, rolling her eyes subtly as Ms. Montez raised her eyebrows. "And she may be developing, I don't know, feelings for this guy and this guy has never really been nice to her until now." Gabriella explained vaguely.

"Who's this guy we're talking about?" Ms. Montez asked curiously.

Gabriella leaned back in her chair, tapping her index finger quickly against the top of the counter before finally answering.

"Troy Bolton." She said quietly.

Ms. Montez looked extremely surprised as she looked at her suddenly shy daughter. Gabriella shifted in her spot as she waited for her mom to reply.

"Why would Sharpay or Taylor like Troy Bolton? He's been mean to all of you for as long as I can remember." Ms. Montez answered, looking at her in confusion.

"Okay, speaking hypothetically." Gabriella said quickly, looking at her mom with a sigh. "Say I liked Troy Bolton and he's been hanging around the diner, what would that mean… hypothetically speaking." Gabriella added in slowly, not exactly sure what she was saying.

"That he's hungry and you just so happen to be his waitress?" Ms. Montez said unsurely, watching as Gabriella's calm expression turned into disappointment.

"Oh." Gabriella replied quietly.

"Well, we're speaking hypothetically here." Ms. Montez said with a laugh. "It's not like you actually like Troy Bolton."

Gabriella smiled as if she was hiding something and Ms. Montez raised her eyebrow suspiciously again.

"No, hypothetically I don't." Gabriella said quickly, grabbing her books from the counter, walking towards the stairs in a hurry.

"Wait!" Ms. Montez called after her. "Doesn't that mean you like him?"

"I don't know what I'm talking about anymore. I'm going insane… I'm hearing his voice in my head." Gabriella ranted on as she marched up the stairs, mad at herself for even _hypothetically_ thinking of Troy Bolton.

* * *

**Like it? Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	6. Disgrace to the Male Population

**Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! You make me so happy! Well, this chapter is shorter than the past few and it's kind of a filler, but I like it just as much as any other chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Loving Love

Chapter six

Disgrace to the Male Population

East High's cafeteria buzzed with conversation, the bright sun coming in from the large windows by the stairs highlighted the jock table and as Gabriella stood in the lunch line, her lunch already paid for, she watched Troy Bolton interact with his friends.

"… this math problem was insane. I couldn't even figure it out so I asked the teacher about it and apparently the problem in the book was written wrong! I was so surprised!" Taylor's story wasn't being heard by Gabriella as she stood in the slow moving line of students with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes having the trace of confusion in them.

"Gabs?" Sharpay said somewhat loudly, waving her hand in front of her friend's face. "You okay?"

Gabriella blinked out of her stare and smiled at her two friends, nodding as they looked at her in wonder. The lunch lady smiled at them as they reached the counter and Sharpay started telling the happy woman what she wanted.

As Gabriella was going to grab a deliciously red apple from the basket next to Sharpay, a hand grabbed it before she had a chance to get it and when she turned to see who had so rudely gotten in her way she was face to face with Chad, Zeke, and Troy. Chad bit into the apple, sending a cold splatter of apple juice onto her cheek. She wiped it off quickly, rolling her eyes as she took an orange instead.

"You don't have anything better to do than to steal healthy food from people?" Gabriella asked him, feeling Taylor's elbow collide with her side in a warning manner.

"It gives me great pleasure." Chad told her, cutting in front of Taylor as Gabriella responded.

"I'm sorry that your life is so boring, Danforth." She said with an eye roll, going in front of him swiftly so that she could grab the last chocolate milk that he was about to take.

Chad closed his mouth quickly before he could say a nasty comment to her when he saw Zeke and Sharpay talking to each other with giddy smiles on their faces. Taylor and Gabriella exchanged a look and as Chad went in front of Gabriella again to get a closer look at the two, Gabriella saw Troy behind Taylor, collecting food from the lunch line. He had obviously cut in front of a drooling cheerleader.

"Did Sharpay forget to tell us something?" Gabriella asked Taylor quietly, seeing Troy glance away from the lady at the cash register to look at the whispering girls.

Gabriella looked away from him quickly before being pulled by Taylor towards Sharpay and Zeke. Zeke was leaning up against the cafeteria wall as he talked to Sharpay and as the girls approached them, with Chad and Troy following quickly behind, they heard Sharpay's happy laugh.

"Uh, Shar, what are you doing?" Taylor asked her blonde friend, seeing Zeke's smile falter slightly when he saw Chad's angry expression.

Troy plopped a fry into his mouth from his lunch tray and nodded at a flirting cheerleader as she passed him with a wave. He didn't exactly see the problem with Zeke talking to Sharpay. He had heard countless rants about how his good friend was falling for one of the nerds and he was expecting this, but Chad obviously wasn't.

"Dude, our table is this way." Chad said, pointing behind him as he saw that his friend didn't look like he was in a rush.

Troy glanced over at Chad and then looked back at his tray, not wanting to be pulled into the argument that would most likely take place. Gabriella looked at Taylor, who also looked somewhat upset and she couldn't help but smile at how much she was looking like Chad.

"I know, man, but I'm talking to Sharpay right now." Zeke said with a casual nod, looking over at Sharpay who was now occupied by her hot pink shoes.

Gabriella breathed in slowly, watching Sharpay as she stood vulnerably next to Zeke who didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. It was the first time that Sharpay actually looked like she was sad about the distance between the jock and nerd group and it suddenly had Gabriella's heart sinking into her stomach.

"Dude…"

"Shar…"

"If they want to talk let them. I don't see the big deal." Gabriella said to the group as Taylor and Chad tried to get their designated friend to come back with them.

Sharpay gave Gabriella a thanking smile and Zeke looked over at Troy, causing Gabriella to look at him for the first time since she had joined Sharpay and Zeke at the side of the cafeteria. He was still eating his lunch while standing up, not willing to stand up for Zeke or to defend Chad in any way.

"You can't honestly be interested in this pink Barbie, can you?" Chad asked, not caring about the hurt look that appeared on Sharpay's flawless face.

"So what if I am Chad, I just so happen to remember when you…" Zeke was cut off when Troy threw a fry at him and Chad glared at his friend who was currently crossing over to the dark side.

"I think it would be best if we ended this unwanted gathering." Troy said to the group, looking at Gabriella, and then at Chad who was still looking red with anger.

"Sharpay and I were going to go work on our project for cooking class. I'll see you guys at practice." Zeke said to Troy and Chad, placing his hand on the small of Sharpay's back as they made their way towards the doors of the cafeteria.

"You're a disgrace to the male population!" Chad called after him, glaring equally at Taylor as his friend didn't react and then he grabbed Troy by the arm, leading him back to their table.

"Sharpay likes Zeke?" Taylor asked Gabriella somewhat hurt that she hadn't been told.

"Well, yeah, isn't it obvious?" Gabriella asked gently, not wanting to make Taylor upset.

Taylor shook her head, sliding into the chair next to Gabriella at their lunch table. She was too confused for words as she looked around the crowded cafeteria that was specifically split up into the popular groups and the geek groups. For as long as she could remember her and her friends never wanted anything to do with the jocks and now suddenly Sharpay was in love with one? This just didn't seem right and she didn't like it at all.

"So, Sharpay loves Zeke?" Taylor asked quietly.

"Well… love's a strong word." Gabriella replied with a laugh, shrugging when Taylor looked over at her. "Maybe right now she just loves love."

"But we hate love." Taylor stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, but Sharpay never did." Gabriella answered, ripping her cheeseburger in half as Taylor pushed her tray away from her.

"I have to go to the bathroom or something." Taylor said, getting up angrily as she marched across the cafeteria and out into the hallway, leaving Gabriella alone at the large table that was usually taken up by her closest friends.

Gabriella looked around awkwardly, glancing away quickly from the cheerleaders' table when they gave her threatening looks. She sighed, taking a sip of her chocolate milk before taking the opportunity of being alone to look at the jock table. Troy was sitting only with Jason, and Jason was surprisingly occupied by a Biology book, leaving Troy alone with his own thoughts. When Gabriella caught his gaze, she froze slightly when he kept his eyes on her, not seeing the hot preppy girls pass him and he raised the cheeseburger that was in his hand and nodded at her, looking away when she gave him a nice smile, looking down at her own lunch food.

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**unknownbyhim22**


	7. Baby Steps

**Hey everyone! I was going to update yesturday, but oddly, I went to the farm. And I babysat. Thank you all so much for the reviews! Don't forget to check out this trailer on YouTube! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter seven

Baby Steps

Gabriella was bending down behind the counter of the diner when she heard the bells on the door chime. She stood up, hearing her knees crack as she straightened them and she came face to face with Troy's little sister. Her dark blue eyes looked sad as she sat in Troy's usual seat and Gabriella looked around to see if anyone had come with her.

"Hi." She smiled shyly, taping her fingers on the counter as she looked at Gabriella.

"Are you here alone?" Gabriella asked cautiously, moving a few dirty plates away from her.

"Yeah." She nodded, her nervous fingers stopping their motion as she looked somewhat guilty.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, putting her hands on her hips as she looked at the little girl, knowing that she shouldn't be there alone.

"I'm kind of hungry, but I don't have any money." She explained, glancing at the cupcakes that were sitting on the counter.

Gabriella smiled softly, taking a pink cupcake off of the large plate and handed it to her.

"It's on the house." She said with a smile as Bailey- Troy's sister- took it from her happily.

Gabriella watched as she bit into it, tending to a few of her customers before coming back to the counter where Bailey still sat after a few more minutes. Gabriella leaned against the counter as she faced the girl, noticing how much she looked like Troy.

"Why are you here alone?" Gabriella asked her after just watching her for a few more seconds.

"Troy's babysitting me." She told Gabriella as she folded her hands together on the top of the counter. "He was being mean to me." She explained.

"So…" Gabriella started, still not putting the pieces together.

"I ran away." She simply stated.

"You what?!" Gabriella asked loudly, her eyes widening. "You walked here by yourself?" She asked in shock. "Does your brother know you're here?"

"No." She answered. "He probably doesn't know I'm gone."

"I'm sure he does!" Gabriella said with a quick nod, grabbing the phone off of its place on the wall, ready to dial an array of numbers, but then she remembered that she didn't know Troy's number, and then the look that Bailey had on her face stopped her.

"Please don't call him! I promise to go home in a little bit, but he's such an idiot! I hate him!" She said seriously, looking extremely mad as she thought of her much older brother.

Gabriella's heart seemed to grow heavy as she looked at Troy's sister, laughing softly after a minute.

"You sound like me." Gabriella admitted, seeing Bailey smile softly.

"So he's a lunkhead basketball player around you too?" She asked.

"You could say that." Gabriella answered with a laugh, excusing herself as the phone started to ring.

Turning towards the wall as she answered the phone, Gabriella said her usual "Gabriella speaking, you've called Rebecca's how can I help you" greeting when she heard a panicking Troy on the other line.

"Is Bailey there? One second I'm peeing and the next she's gone!" He shouted into the phone, out of breath and no where near calm.

"Yeah, she's here." Gabriella replied, glancing behind her shoulder at the counter.

"Don't let her out of your sight! I'll be there in a minute!" Troy said quickly.

"No, wait!" Gabriella exclaimed, hearing the motion that she heard on the other line stop and Troy's breathing grow more impatient.

"What?" He asked loudly.

"I think she needs some time alone." Gabriella explained to him, hearing an annoyed groan from him as if he didn't understand the female mind. "I'll walk her home when she's ready to go."

"Make sure she's okay for me." Troy said vulnerably, his voice quieter than it had been since he called.

"I will." Gabriella nodded even though he couldn't see, and as she was about to say bye she heard the buzz of the other line, indicating that Troy had hung up. She rolled her eyes before hanging up the phone and turned to see Bailey watching her.

"That him?" She asked dully.

"Yeah, but I told him I'd take you home when you were ready." Gabriella smiled.

"And he agreed?" Bailey asked in surprise as if her brother never let her get away with things like this.

"Yup." Gabriella answered with a soft smile. "I'll be right back. I have some customers to get to."

Bailey nodded, staying in her seat as she waited for Gabriella to come back, watching Gabriella carry multiple plates of food at a time around the diner. The hair being held up by her ponytail was slowly falling out of it, trailing down her shoulders as she made more trips. Gabriella smiled at Bailey when she noticed that she was being watched by her and she pulled her ponytail out of her hair to readjust it. She cursed under her breath when the hair tie broke as she was twisting it around her hair, and she sighed as she continued to do her work, ignoring her long hair.

"You should wear your hair down all of the time." Bailey said as Gabriella filled up a few cups with Root Beer.

"Why do you say that?" Gabriella asked with a laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's pretty." Bailey stated.

"Thanks." Gabriella replied somewhat shyly, wondering why the comment sounded so weird to her, but then she realized it was because no one ever complimented her.

"Gabriella?" Bailey said suddenly. "Do you think I should go home now?" She asked somewhat shyly.

"Sure." Gabriella smiled. "I'll walk you home."

***

"Do you think he's going to be mad?" Bailey asked Gabriella as they walked hand in hand along the sidewalk, talking about anything that they thought of as they walked.

"Isn't he always mad?" Gabriella commented with a small laugh, seeing Bailey nod as she looked up at her.

"Lately he's been especially angry." Bailey told Gabriella. "With everything going on at school and stuff, he's apparently stressed. At least that's what my mom told me the other day after he yelled at me for being in his room."

"What do you mean? What's been going on at school?" Gabriella asked her curiously, looking down at her.

"Well, I don't know the whole story, but Chad hasn't been over lately, and I heard my dad talking to my mom about how Troy wasn't performing well at practice." Bailey said.

"Why's that?" Gabriella asked her, becoming increasingly curious about the situation.

"Between you and me," Bailey started with a smile. "I think he likes a girl." She said with a small giggle after.

"A girl, huh?" Gabriella questioned, laughing slightly at the laugh that escaped Bailey's lips. "Who's this girl?"

"I don't know, but she has to be driving Troy crazy! I heard him singing in the shower the other day! Can you believe that?" Bailey asked excitedly, loving the small amount of happiness that her brother sometimes gave off.

"That _is_ surprising." Gabriella laughed softly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is my brother mean to you?" She asked, looking up at Gabriella who tried not to look saddened by the question. Bailey continued to look at her as they walked together and Gabriella sighed, looking straight ahead as she came up with an answer.

"High school is weird, Bailey." She started, trying to put her answer as nicely as she could. "There are tons of different groups of people with different friends, you know?"

"Yeah, like the cheerleaders and jokes? And the nerds?" Bailey said. "Are you a cheerleader? You look like one."

Gabriella's mouth fell open and she looked quickly at Bailey who seemed completely serious about her question. Bailey looked up confused, wondering why Gabriella wasn't saying anything.

"I would be considered a nerd at East High." Gabriella admitted.

Bailey was quiet for a minute as they walked down a familiar street. She started to walk slower and Gabriella smiled softly, knowing their walk was coming to an end.

"So Troy's not friends with you because you're a nerd?" Bailey asked, not seeing the hurt look on Gabriella's face.

"I guess so." Gabriella faked a smile, wanting Bailey to know that it didn't bug her. "Sometimes people aren't meant to be friends."

"That's too bad, because Troy needs someone in his life like you." Bailey said. "Someone who will stand up to him and not make out with him would make him a better person."

"Um… what?" Gabriella asked in surprise.

"He makes out with tons of girls at home when my parents think he's babysitting me." She explained. "It's really gross."

Gabriella didn't answer as they approached the Bolton's house. The night sky was a dark blue and there was a cool breeze moving around them. Troy stood up immediately from the porch step that he was sitting on when he saw the two of them and jogged towards his sister, trying not to notice her flinch as he picked her up quickly, pulling her into the tightest hug he might have ever given out.

"Never do that again!" He said angrily to his sister, burying his face into her straight hair as she hugged him back softly.

Gabriella stood awkwardly on the sidewalk as she tried not to faint as she witnessed Troy caring so deeply about a breathing object. She ran a hand through her curly hair and crossed her arms over her chest as a chill ran down her spin.

"Troy, I can't breathe." Bailey squeaked softly.

Gabriella laughed softly, watching as Troy loosened his grip and looked at his sister seriously.

"Why the hell did you run away?" He asked her.

"You were being mean." She said quietly, looking down at her brother's t-shirt, pulling on a small string on the shoulder so that she didn't have to look at him.

"Don't scare me like that! You have to promise me that you'll never do that again." He begged her, smiling softly as she began tearing up, promising that she wouldn't do it again.

He set her down, realizing that she wasn't a little kid anymore and that he couldn't pick her up for that long anymore. He finally noticed Gabriella standing next to them, awkwardly trying not to make eye contact. He opened his mouth to say something, but Bailey interrupted him before he could.

"Can Gabriella come in and watch American Idol with us?" Bailey asked Troy, grabbing Gabriella's hand, tugging her towards the front door.

"As long as she sits on the opposite end of the couch." Troy said seriously as he opened the front door for his sister and Gabriella.

Gabriella laughed when she ended up sitting right next to Troy when American Idol came on. Bailey didn't want to sit on the crack between the two couch cushions so she made Gabriella switch with her, which resulted in Gabriella sitting next to Troy, her legs folded underneath her as she tried not to bump into Troy.

"Who's your favorite so far?" Bailey asked Gabriella quietly.

"Shush." Troy said as he heard the voices next to him, wanting to watch the embarrassing auditions.

"It hasn't started yet." Gabriella giggled at Bailey's enthusiasm.

Bailey smiled as she leaned against the arm of the couch. Gabriella could feel Troy's leg against her knee and as Bailey pushed her towards him slightly as she stretched her legs out, she glanced at him, now fully resting her thigh against his leg. He was too interested in the show to realize she was touching him and she breathed a sigh of relief, going back to watching the show.

Gabriella was in the middle of cracking up with Bailey as a blonde girl appeared on the screen who couldn't sing at all when she felt something brush up against the back of her head lightly. She glanced over at Troy and saw that his arm was now resting on the back of the couch behind her. She furrowed her brow subtly and cleared her throat after her long laugh and looked back at the TV screen.

"Gosh, I would never put myself through that!" Gabriella exclaimed as she saw the crying teenaged girl begging the judges to give her a second chance.

"You'd have to be crazy." Bailey giggled, shaking her head at the screen.

"You two are a bunch of sissies." Troy said with an eye roll, although secretly he agreed with them.

"So you're telling us you'd audition?" Gabriella asked with an eyebrow raise, looking over at Troy.

"No, I'd win too easily." Troy said egotistically, looking over at his sister as she started to comment.

"Yeah right." Gabriella replied with a laugh, seeing Bailey looking at the two suspiciously.

"Troy, why do you have your arm around Gabriella?" Bailey asked as she looked at her brother, seeing him look at his arm as if he had no idea how it ended up there.

Gabriella giggled awkwardly, looking over at the TV for a moment so she didn't have to look at Troy.

"I don't." Troy replied curtly. "I'm resting my arm on the back of the couch." He explained.

"That's not what it looks like from over here." Bailey said in a sing song voice, smiling softly as she exchanged a look with Gabriella.

"Shut up, Bailey, or I'll tell Mom and Dad that you ran away." Troy threatened, looking over at his sister as Gabriella sat quietly in between the arguing siblings.

"No you won't because then they'll know that you weren't watching me!" Bailey shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

Troy rolled his eyes while he kept his arm on the back of the couch and Gabriella laughed softly, running a hand through her long hair. Troy looked over at her, shaking his head as she tried to hide the fact that she was laughing at him.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you." Troy told her mysteriously.

"And what if I continue? Are you going to beat me up?" Gabriella asked with a smirk, laughing still as Bailey giggled next to her.

Troy's eyes grew playfully angry and he moved closer so that he was face to face with her, her hand now resting on his leg as she became instantly still. A small smile grew on his lips as her laugh softened; the hand that was resting behind her slowly coming to rest on her back.

"If you keep laughing I might have to kiss you." He whispered to her with a competitive look in his eyes.

Gabriella's laugh instantly silenced as a gasp escaped from her lips while she looked directly into Troy's eyes. Troy smiled to himself, pulling away from her as she looked somewhat terrified and he laughed out loud, seeing his wide eyed sister.

"I know just what to say, don't I?" Troy said as he chuckled, hearing nothing but silence from the two girls next to him.

When he looked over at the girls a few minutes later, Bailey was leaning against the arm of the couch, looking at the screen with a smile on her face and Gabriella was staring at her hands that were placed in her lap with a confused look on her face. Troy sighed softly, and when he looked back at the screen and then at the girls once again he saw his parents standing in the doorway, looking at him in wonder.

"Hey, guys." Mrs. Bolton said with a smile, looking at her sparkling watch that was secured around her wrist. "Bailey's supposed to be in bed by now."

Troy glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned loudly, realizing now that he had lost track of time and never told his sister to get ready for bed. He'd probably get into trouble for that, definitely since he had been losing track of time a lot lately.

"I begged him to let me stay up." Bailey said quickly, leaping from the couch so that she could give her dad a hug before she went to bed, giggling as Mr. Bolton twirled her around with a laugh.

"We'll be up to tuck you in." Mrs. Bolton said to Bailey, waiting until Bailey was racing up the stairs before she exchanged a look with her husband.

"What brings you here, Miss Montez?" Mr. Bolton asked Gabriella, seeing her and Troy stand up awkwardly from their position on the couch.

"Oh… I… um…" Troy ran a hand through his hair as she tried to cover for both Troy and his sister and what came out of her mouth as her excuse made Troy laugh softly. "We got your mail." She nodded. "I brought it over and Bailey asked me to stay to watch American Idol."

Mrs. Bolton nodded suspiciously, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Do you need a ride home?" Mr. Bolton asked with a smile. "I can take you home in my car."

"No disrespect Mr. Bolton, but I don't think my mom would be too happy if I was dropped off in a cop car." She smiled, shrugging as Mr. Bolton laughed softly.

"I understand." Mr. Bolton laughed. "Troy will walk you home. I don't want you walking home alone."

"Who's going to walk me home?" Troy asked his dad sarcastically. "Do you not care if I get home safely?" He asked dramatically.

"I'm sure you'll make it." Mrs. Bolton said to her son.

***

Gabriella looked up at the night sky as she and Troy walked on the sidewalk towards her house and she felt her arm brush up against his, causing her to look away from the starry sky so that she could concentrate on walking straight.

"You're on my side of the sidewalk, Montez." Troy told her, looking over at her as she purposely moved closer to him, digging her elbow into his side.

"I didn't know the sidewalk was divided." She replied, shoving him onto the damp grass separating the sidewalk from the road.

"Watch it." He warned her, sending her a look as he got back onto the sidewalk.

"What are you going to do? Kiss me?" She asked, giving him a playful look as he glared at her.

"I only said that to shut you up." He replied seriously, glancing at a pacing car as if hoping no one inside of it knew him.

"If you say so." Gabriella replied with a soft laugh, looking down at her feet, playing her own little game of trying not to step on the cracks of the sidewalk.

Troy looked at Gabriella when he saw her jump shortly over one of the cracks on the sidewalk and he gave her a weird look that she didn't catch since she wasn't paying attention to him and as he cleared his throat, she stopped paying attention to the sidewalk and looked up at him as they continued to walk.

"You cleared your throat loudly?" Gabriella told him, wondering what he wanted since he had so obviously wanted her attention.

"Did Bailey say anything to you?" Troy asked her.

"Say anything about what?" Gabriella asked dumbly.

"Are you choosing this moment to be stupid?" Troy asked her with an eye roll, watching as she smirked secretly.

"Should you be calling the person who your sister poured her heart and soul out to stupid?" Gabriella asked him, making the statement a lot more dramatic than it actually needed to be.

"Well, sorry." He said distantly. "I just wanted to know what made her run away."

"The answers obvious." Gabriella said seriously now, looking over at Troy as their steps became equal, the sound of their shoes on the pavement came together to form some kind of tiring pattern and Gabriella breathed out slowly, finishing her answer. "You did."

The sound of a loud sigh came from Troy as he shook his head, looking at the pavement in front of them as he remained quiet for a minute.

"What did she say?" Troy asked her, glancing at Gabriella quickly before going back to observing the space in front of him.

"She said what any eleven year old girl who was mad at her brother would say." Gabriella told him, not wanting to go into detail about what she had said. As much as she hated Troy Bolton, she didn't want to repeat the somewhat hurtful words towards him.

"And what's that? I've never been an eleven year old girl before." Troy said as he looked over at her, laughing slightly while she shook her head in annoyance.

"She said that she hated you." Gabriella said quietly, trying to drop the bomb gently.

Troy was quiet as he looked away from Gabriella, looking up at the stars and then back to the pavement in front of them as he shrugged, breathing in deeply before replying.

"It's nothing I haven't heard before." Troy told her, making Gabriella laugh quietly to herself.

"You've probably heard it more from me than anyone else." Gabriella replied, feeling somewhat guilty.

"Actually, I've only heard it from you." Troy admitted, smiling softly as the guilty look on her face grew. "But don't feel bad, I'm sure we're even."

"Why do we have to be even?" Gabriella asked quickly, stopping their walk as she exclaimed the question, startling Troy.

"Uh, what? Do you want to say you hate me more than I hate you?" He asked her unsurely, looking somewhat confused.

"No, I mean…" Gabriella shook her head, starting to walk again as her words quieted to nothing. "Never mind."

"Come on, you can tell me. I promise to actually listen." Troy told her, not letting the subject go because her random outburst had made him curious.

"I can't believe I'm telling you this." Gabriella said more to herself than she did to him. "Why should we even have to be mean to each other? Why are we keeping tallies of who hurt who when and how many times?" Gabriella ranted, throwing her arms in the air and letting them fall to her side with a thud. "I'm sick of keeping score because I never signed up for this game."

"What game?" Troy asked her.

"You know, cat and mouse… tag. You hurt me; I retaliate with a profane comment." She explained. "I'm just tired of getting even with you."

"Okay, so speaking hypothetically, what if I called an end to this game you're talking about, what would happen then?" He asked her curiously, wondering why she had a smirk on her face that was obviously holding back a laugh. She looked as if she was thinking of something else, but then she sighed, smiling still as she kept her eyes on him.

She stopped walking, sticking her hands in her jean pockets as he stopped in front of her.

"So you get to call an end to this? I don't get to do the honors?" Gabriella asked with a smile, seeing him rolling his eyes.

"Well, do what you need to do before I change my mind." Troy said as if he was preparing himself for a nice gesture or something. He was somewhat leaning away from Gabriella as she continued to look at him.

"I guess we can just say goodbye." Gabriella told him, shrugging.

"I'm supposed to walk you home though. It wouldn't be very _nice_ of me to ditch you in the middle of our walk." He replied, smiling softly.

"This is my house." Gabriella laughed, pointing to the house behind her. Troy looked at the house that belonged to the driveway they were standing next to and he let out an "ooohhh" as he nodded.

"I pass this house everyday and I never knew you lived here. Those tulips are really odd, by the way." Troy told her with a joking laugh, eyeing the red tulips in the pots on the porch. Everyday he wondered why normal flowers weren't planted there.

"They're my favorite."

That explains it.

"Since we're going to try to be nice to each other I'll refrain from the comment that I could say." Troy said with a smile, laughing as Gabriella swatted him on the arm.

"Well, thanks for walking me home. I hope you make it home by yourself." Gabriella said with a small laugh.

"How are we supposed to depart? Do I give you a hug or is that weird?" He asked her seriously.

"We're taking baby steps, Troy, not leaping over a freaking bridge. I think me saying thanks was just about enough." Gabriella said with a laugh, running a hand through her hair as she started to back up her driveway.

"Night!" Troy shouted as he made his way towards his house, laughing as Gabriella looked quickly behind her at him, shaking her head before disappearing into her house, passing the red tulips on her front porch with a smile.

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**unknownbyhim22**


	8. Not meant to be Friends

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I didn't update this morning like I planned on, but my computer was acting funky and I had to wait until my mother got home to check it out. Thank you so much for the reviews, they make me so happy everyday! I have a good feeling that you're going to be happy about this chapter! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter eight

Not meant to be Friends

Gabriella's day had so far been crappy, for lack of a better word. She had surprisingly failed her honors geometry test that morning and when she got to the diner later that day she had accidentally spilled a steaming hot coffee on a grumpy customer. That grumpy customer directed profane comments at her, which had to be intercepted by Stephanie, who told him to buzz off, although the word that Stephanie used in replace of the word buzz wasn't as polite.

As she wiped the cool sweat from her forehead, trying not to let any tears fall from her eyes as customers stared at her worriedly, Gabriella heard the bells on the door chime softly, causing her to look up into the baby blue eyes of Troy Bolton. On any other day she would have sighed heavily and walked in the opposite direction, keeping a nasty comment to herself, but as he sat down she had a sudden homesick feeling bubble in her stomach and she was comforted to see him and his subtle smile on his lips.

"It's crowded in here." Troy pointed out, having nothing better to say to her than to point out the obvious.

"Which is surprising considering I've already spilled coffee on half of the customers." Gabriella said with a shake of her head, whipping her wet hands off with a dry rag.

"Bad day?" Troy asked with a grin, seeing the faded bags under her eyes.

"You could say that." Gabriella replied, ignoring the customer that was straining his neck to get her attention. "You're obviously amused though."

"I am not." Troy said with a small laugh, putting a hand over his mouth so the smile that was still there wasn't noticeable.

"You're smiling." She said pointed out, putting a hand on her hip as she looked at a chuckling Troy.

"How do you know I'm not smiling because I'm happy to see you?" He asked with a smirk, pulling out a menu to distract the two of them from the smile on his face.

"Because I know, and why are you looking at a menu? You get the same thing every time you come here." She replied, looking over at Samantha, giving her a nod that indicated that Troy was getting his usual.

"Am I that predictable?" Troy asked with a laugh, setting the menu down behind the salt and pepper shakers next to him.

"Well…."

"Hey, lady! I've been waiting for you to come over to my table for ages! Do I need to talk to the manager about the terrible job you are doing today?" The man that Gabriella had spilt coffee on earlier was leaning across the counter, brushing elbows with Troy as he looked at Gabriella directly in the eyes, sending his intimidating glare at her.

"Sir, I'm just…"

"Her name's Gabriella, dude, and lay off, she's having a bad day." Troy said quickly as he saw Gabriella stepping back while the man's angry expression increased.

"And who are you?" The man snapped, looking at Troy.

"I'm Troy Bolton." Troy said, glancing at Gabriella as the man stood up from his bent over position against the counter, his facial expression changing as if he recognized the name.

"My son's on the basketball team for West High. I've heard about you." He said in a calmer tone, his lips forming in a tight frown as he finished his reply.

"I'm sure most people have." Troy replied with a nod, watching as the man walked away slowly. "When you spilt coffee on that guy was it hot?" Troy asked, noticing the coffee stain that was on his shirt.

"Steaming." Gabriella replied quietly with a nod, shocked that Troy Bolton had stuck up for her.

"Good." He replied, smiling as Samantha told Gabriella that his order was ready.

Gabriella slid Troy's order in front of him after reaching over to grab the basket of food from Samantha without moving from her spot. She smiled softly when Troy ripped his burger in half, taking a bit of the hot food was a satisfied look.

A few minutes later, when Troy looked up from his food he noticed that Gabriella wasn't there—he didn't mean to be rude by forgetting about Gabriella, but his hunger took over… what was he saying? He didn't need to worry about being rude to Gabriella!

"Hey, George." Troy heard from behind him, glancing over his shoulder as he saw a smiling Gabriella greeting the old man that came by constantly. George nodded to her with a smile, going over to his usual table that was still dirty from the previous customer.

Gabriella walked over to the table, removing the plates and cups quickly before starting to wipe the sticky table top off.

"So that boy seems to come around a lot." George's voice suddenly said, catching Gabriella off guard as she pushed the salt and pepper shakers to their designated spots.

"Oh…" Gabriella said quietly, looking over at Troy who was plopping a fry into his mouth. "Yeah, well."

"Looks like he has a crush on you." George told her, a small smirk forming on his face as he saw Gabriella's surprised expression.

"No, not me." She replied with a laugh. "I'd be the last person he would have a crush on. We don't exactly get along."

"Well, my wife hated me ninety-nine percent of the time, but I was the only one who hated her equally, so her last resort was me." He said seriously, his eyes sparkling while a memory seemed to play in his mind.

"What?" Gabriella asked with a laugh.

"You don't have to get along." George started with a laugh. "You just have to tolerate each other long enough to fall in love."

"Me? Fall in love. That won't be happening… I—"

"Hate love? So I've heard." George said with a smile. "I'll just have my usual." He added, winking at her as if he was telling her that he knew what she was up to.

Gabriella scribbled down on her notepad, crossing over the diner with a confused look on her face as she tossed the order to Samantha. Since when did George know she hated love? She would definitely have to ask Stephanie if she was gossiping about her to the customers. After a few more seconds of staring into space she felt a soft tug on her apron and when she snapped out of her thoughts she saw Troy leaning over the counter, snatching a straw from her pocket.

"I didn't want to interrupt your daydream." Troy said with a smirk, seeing the wondering look on Gabriella's face.

"I wasn't day dreaming." She replied with an eye roll.

Troy shrugged, pulling off the straw wrapper as Gabriella left to tend to more customers, leaving him to watch her walk around the diner, collecting plates from the now-empty tables.

As Troy was handing Stephanie a five dollar bill to pay for his meal he heard the loudest crashing noise come from behind him, causing him to jump to the side, wondering what had caused the traumatic disturbance. There was a gasp as Samantha ran from the kitchen to see Gabriella sprawled out on the floor of the diner, red as a tomato as embarrassment took over her features. The few customers that were left looked at her worriedly as she sat up slowly, trying her best to keep her distance from the glass that was surrounding her.

"Don't move!" Stephanie said quickly, running for a broom and Samantha gasped in a motherly way, telling Troy to get away from the glass: you'll-cut-yourself!

"Are you okay?" Troy asked Gabriella, stepping on the chunks of glass, knowing that his shoes were tough enough to stand up to the sharp objects, as he reached for Gabriella, helping her stand up slowly while pieces of glass rolled off of her.

"I'm fine. I probably shouldn't be hauling all of those plates around anyways." Gabriella replied breathlessly, running a hand through her hair that was now cascading down her shoulders, the ponytail that had been holding her hair together was now buried under the glass.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" Troy asked her.

Gabriella swallowed roughly, feeling Troy's arm around her waist as she pressed up against his toned body. She nodded slowly, seeing George out of the corner of her eye observing them.

"Yeah, thanks." Gabriella replied, nodding slowly as Troy cautiously let go of her, a look of embarrassment washed over his face as he realized that they were in a position that they were never in.

"I told you not to move!" Stephanie huffed as she hurried over, gently brushing the glass on the floor into a pile.

"Gabriella, honey, you're bleeding." Samantha said quietly as if saying it loudly would have scared Gabriella half to death, causing her to become hysterical.

Gabriella looked quickly behind her, hoping that her tampon hadn't leaked and Samantha shook her head in annoyance, a worried expression still on her face as Gabriella finally say her bloody arm. The soft part of her arm was penetrated with a piece of glass and as she looked down at it she became dizzy, realizing that the pain was obviously coming from that wound.

"Whoa." Troy said quietly, not even realizing her injury until Samantha had pointed it out.

"You need to get to the hospital, Gabriella! I think there might be glass in there." Stephanie panicked, looking at a paling Gabriella.

"No, I'm fine, besides I walked here, so my car's not around."

"I think she's right. You need to get that looked at." Samantha said with a nod. "I can close the diner while I take you…"

"No, you can't close just because I have a little scratch." Gabriella said with a shake of her head.

"That's no scratch." Stephanie mumbled behind her, going back to the glass on the floor.

"I could take her, I mean, if she doesn't mind." Troy said with a shrug, looking away from the worsening cut.

"That would be great. I'll get you a towel to wrap that up in." Samantha said with a nod, exchanging a look with Gabriella as an even more worried look appeared on her face.

***

Troy's truck had definitely surprised Gabriella when she first saw it sitting in the diner's parking lot. When she visualized Troy Bolton (although she'd deny picturing him at all) in a car it was a dark blue sports car not the beat up truck that she was currently sitting in. While holding the bloody towel around her arm she tried not to be bugged by the silence—the radio was broken.

"You okay?" It was the fourth time Troy had asked that question since the incident happened and Gabriella's heart beat still speed up when she heard it again. She nodded, telling him she would be fine as she shifted in the seat, glancing out the window as the hospital came into view.

Gabriella squeezed her fingers into a fist when she saw that she was shaking and she tried to hide the fact that she was terrified of being by herself with Troy Bolton at such a scary place. The hospital doors slid open as they neared them, inviting them in as they walked side by side. Gabriella swallowed harshly, squinting at the bright lights as she ignored the disgusted look a visitor gave her when she passed the waiting people.

"You can wait here if you want." Gabriella told Troy who was still faithfully with her as she neared the counter.

"Okay." Troy said, going over to one of the mint green chairs, sitting down while keeping his eyes on Gabriella who was explaining to the nurse at the counter what had happened to her.

Within a minute and a half Troy watched as a concerned looking nurse walked over to her, smiling softly before telling Gabriella to follow her. Gabriella glanced back at Troy, surprised again when she saw the supportive smile he gave her as he sat with his hands tapping anxiously on the uncomfortable chair he had claimed. Gabriella's hair was picked up with the wind that the swinging door of the emergency room had created when it closed behind her and the speed-walking nurses and doctors around her made her nervous.

"I'm sorry." Gabriella said quickly, stopping mid-step as she shook her head nervously at the nurse who had stopped with her too. "I need to go get my…uh…"

"Boyfriend?" The nurse questioned with a smirk.

"Sure." Gabriella said quietly, walking quickly in the opposite direction as the nurse followed her slowly, giving her space as she neared the worried boy sitting in the waiting room.

"What's up? Are you okay?" Troy asked as he stood up from his chair, wondering why Gabriella was back so quickly. "Do we need to go to another hospital?" He asked, putting his hands in his jean pockets.

"No, um… I need you to come in there with me." Gabriella said quietly, blushing as Troy gave her a confused look.

"Why?" Troy whispered to her, noticing the people staring at them as Gabriella stood bloody and he in confusion.

"I just can't go in there alone." She mumbled to him, sighing as he still looked confused.

"Okay. Let's go." Troy said with a nod, absentmindedly placing his hand on the small of her back, leading her back down the long hallway of the emergency room to the room where the nurse was directing them to.

The clock that hung on the wall that shared the hospital door ticked loudly as Gabriella sat impatiently on the exam table, tapping her foot softly mid-air as Troy paced in front of the window. They'd been like this for about ten minutes and after an impatient comment from Gabriella about the crappy customer service a doctor walked in, smiling at the both of them brightly.

"I heard you had an accident." The young women said, sitting in a rolling chair, sliding over to Gabriella to get a better look at her arm.

"Story of my life." Gabriella laughed, causing Troy to look over at her, hearing how fake it sounded.

"Do you come here often?" The doctor asked simply.

"No."

"That explains the look of pure terror on your face." She said to her, wiping the drying blood off of Gabriella's arm before pulling a shot from her coat pocket.

"Is it really that obvious?" Gabriella asked the doctor with a sigh.

"Yes." Troy answered for her, making the doctor laugh softly as she gave Gabriella a quick shot in her arm.

"Thanks for the support." Gabriella retorted sarcastically.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." The doctor told her with a smile. "The shot I gave you will numb your arm."

Gabriella nodded subtly, watching as the door closed behind the doctor before she let out a painful groan, looking down at her arm in agony. As she was examining her arm she felt a quick pinch of her skin and looked quickly to see Troy standing next to her.

"What was that for? That hurt." Gabriella said angrily, shaking her head as Troy sat down next to her.

"I was seeing if your arm was numb yet. It's not." He said with a chuckle, somewhat entertained by her squirming. "Why are you so nervous?" He asked after a minute of silence.

"Because I'm in pain and I'm in a place that freaks me out, and to top it off I'm here with you… of all people." Gabriella answered honestly.

"Wow, I think we just took a step back." Troy said with a chuckle.

"Huh?"

"We were supposed to be taking baby steps to becoming… friends… but that wasn't a very friendly comment." Troy observed, sifting in his spot, laughing at himself as the sound of the disposable paper underneath him crinkled loudly.

"Trust me; I think we've hit the friend mark." Gabriella said with a sigh, noticing that the feeling in her arm was slowly disappearing. She looked at her arm as it hung loosely at her side, wondering how much longer she'd have to be there.

"Really?" Troy asked her. "That's pretty exciting." He said with a smirk, looking at her arm as well, since it was currently occupying her attention.

"Yeah, I'm thrilled." Gabriella replied, looking away from her arm to look over at him.

Their eyes met as Troy also looked away from her arm and the silence that filled the room as neither of them moved was interrupted as the doctor walked back in.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked with a smile, walking over to the table where they were sitting, and setting down some kind of stitching equipment.

"No!" They said at the same time, turning away from each other immediately as the doctor raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Okay, well, there's a piece of glass in your arm that definitely needs to be removed as soon as possible and then you'll need a few stitches. I wouldn't be too worried though, I've done this plenty of times."

Gabriella nodded, looking away from her arm as her stomach churned violently inside of her. Troy looked up at the ceiling; he too not thrilled about the sight next to him. The doctor noticed the tension immediately and spoke just as she was getting a grip on the thick piece of glass in the nervous girl's arm.

"I'm sure having your boyfriend here makes you a lot less nervous." The doctor said as she pulled the piece of glass out slowly.

"He is not my boyfriend." Gabriella replied quickly.

"That was a quick reply, Montez. You'd be lucky to have me as a boyfriend." Troy said with an eyebrow raise.

"Montez? Are we skipping backwards now?" Gabriella asked him. "He's just jealous." She told the doctor, nodding confidently.

"I'm not jealous." Troy replied. "I'm just a good friend who took her to get sewed back together."

"Why'd you have to say it like that? You make me sound like I'm some kind of stuffed animal." Gabriella pouted, rolling her eyes.

"Well, since we're friends now, I must refrain from the comment I could say in response to that." He said, causing Gabriella to slap him across the chest with the hand that wasn't numb. Troy grabbed her hand right before it hit him and squeezed it tightly, holding it against his knee as she subtly tried to get free.

"I'm sorry that I asked, but it was a good distraction." The doctor smiled as if it were her plan all along as she slowly finished her careful stitching. "You're all set, Gabriella."

"That's it?" Gabriella asked as her hand stay in Troy's grasp.

"That's it." She replied. "You can follow me out and they'll check you out."

Gabriella hoped off of the exam table and Troy followed after her, their hands still entwined as they squeezed out of the hospital door side by side. Gabriella pulled her arm that was being tugged around by Troy and he smirked as he held onto her tighter, not letting her let go of him.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, whispering so that the doctor wouldn't hear them as they followed close behind her.

"Holding your hand so that you won't die or anything." Troy replied with a smile.

"You're impossible." Gabriella said with an eye roll as she and Troy walked down the busy hallway of the emergency room, ready to be out of a place that was scary for both of them.

***

The stars could be clearly seen as Troy pulled into the diner's parking lot so that he and Gabriella could grab something to eat before he took her home. There wasn't anyone there as they walked in, only a worried looking Samantha and Stephanie. Gabriella smiled as they rushed over to the counter, asking her a million questions at once, wondering if it hurt or not, or if she was scared. She replied with a no for both of them and Troy gave her a look that clearly meant he knew she was lying.

"We'll leave you two be while we make those burgers for you." Samantha said after a few more questions, pulling Stephanie with her to let them have some alone time.

Gabriella could feel her arm start to throb as the numbness wore off and she peered down at it where it was resting on the counter. Troy sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned forward against the counter.

"This probably wasn't what you had in mind when you came here. I'm sorry for ruining your evening." Gabriella said after a moment of silence.

Troy smiled softly, looking over at her as he shrugged. She glanced over at him, not wanting another moment of eye contact to happen again like it had in the hospital.

"I didn't mind." Troy answered. "It was nice to see you all nervous."

"Well, thanks for that." Gabriella replied sarcastically.

"Does it hurt?" Troy asked, looking at her arm as she sighed, having nothing else to say.

"Yeah, it does." She answered honestly, poking at the bandage that was wrapped around her arm tightly in order to prevent the stitches from being snagged on anything.

"How come you can tell me that, but you denied it when Stephanie asked?" Troy asked curiously.

"Because you're the only one who's seen me weak today. I don't need a group of people figuring out that I'm a cry-baby when it comes to pain." Gabriella said with a small laugh, shaking her head as she admitted this to Troy.

Troy opened his mouth to reply, but Samantha was already coming back with their burgers, setting a basket in front of each of them with a smile, asking if they needed anything else before she went back to the kitchen. Troy felt Gabriella's arm brush up against his as he chewed on his burger and he glanced at her, watching as she plopped a fry in her mouth.

"If it counts for anything, I think you handled the situation perfectly, considering you were with me… of all people." He said after he swallowed, quoting her from their pervious conversation.

"I think it was for the best." Gabriella shrugged. "Anyone else would have been freaking out."

"Yes, well, I'm not much of the freaking out type." Troy replied, taking another bite of his burger.

"That's because you don't care." Gabriella told him, unaware of how that somewhat offended Troy. She looked over at him when he didn't respond and quickly took it back. "No offense." She said.

"How do you know that I don't care about you?" Troy asked her, chewing slowly as he let the steam of his hot fries hit his face.

"I guess because you never have." Gabriella answered. "I don't expect you to suddenly start now… that would be like…"

"Crossing a bridge?" He finished for her, remembering that Gabriella only wanted to take baby steps into this new territory, not "leap over a freaking bridge."

"Yeah. I don't think we're actually going to end up being friends." She said, causing a rush of disappointment to run through Troy's body. He shifted in his seat as he swallowed, wondering why that didn't sit well with him and he looked over at her as she continued to eat, staying quite as he thought. "Once you've hated someone… it's hard to forget that." She added after a minute.

"You could try." Troy said softly, plopping a fry in his mouth, chewing it, and looking over at her where she was staring at her food now, her arm resting against his.

"To forget that you've been the one making my life hell?" She asked quietly.

"Why are you suddenly bringing all of this up? I thought we were going to have a nice conversation." Troy said as he pushed his meal away, looking at her as she too lost her appetite.

"Because today we've crossed way too many bridges and it scares me." She replied simply, her voice quiet, making his heart beat faster.

"Why is that a bad thing?" He asked. "Maybe we're meant to be friends."

"No we're not, Troy." She told him. "We're not meant to be friends."

Troy blinked, watching as she shook her head while emotion became obvious on her face. The way that she was almost convinced that they were always going to be enemies made him want to prove her wrong; made him want to show her that they could be friends, that they could be more than friends if they weren't meant to be friends.

Without even thinking twice, Troy leaned over to her and pressed his lips against hers, feeling her tense under his touch. As Gabriella realized what was happening, she kissed him back, wanting to see if enemies was the only thing they could be and finally, after what felt like hours, but in reality was only mere seconds, they pulled away, staring into each other's eyes as if seeing new people now that they'd took this next step.

Gabriella swallowed quickly, feeling her body become hot as she tried to say something. She could feel her arm throbbing, but the pounding of her heart was much stronger and distracting as she spoke.

"Do you remember when you asked me if you were predictable?" She asked in almost a whisper, seeing him nod slowly. "You're not." She said with a shake of her head. "At all."

**

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Is it just me or is this spacing really messed up? Anyways, Like it? Review!

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	9. Ticklish Spot

**Hey! Thank you all for the reviews! I got over fifty and I'm really excited about it! I'm glad that everyone is liking the story! The fluff is beginning between the two now, I hope it didn't happen too fast, but I hope you like it anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

Loving Love

Chapter nine

Ticklish Spot

Gabriella was pacing nervously. If she was in a cartoon there would be a deep hole underneath her feet from the constant contact her feet were making with the floor, but she wasn't and this wasn't some kind of make-believe episode. She glanced over at her bed, looking away quickly from her two best friends who were starting to become concerned.

"Okay." Gabriella started with a deep breath. "I've called this emergency meeting because…"

"Gabs, it's just us… this isn't a meeting." Sharpay interrupted her, exchanging a look with Taylor as Gabriella breathed in again, stopping her pacing as she stood in front of them.

"Right." She mumbled. "I've just been practicing what I'd say to you and I guess there's no easy way to say this." She said nervously, feeling her stomach start to churn the lunch she ate earlier around loudly.

"Are you moving?" Taylor asked. "Because if you are, I'm going to have to have a talk with your mom. She promised!"

"No, no! I'm not moving." Gabriella replied, shaking her head while giving them a reassuring smile. "This is much worse." She mumbled to herself.

"What could be worse?" Sharpay asked rhetorically, letting her friend continue on with what she needed to say.

"I've been keeping something from you… but I only did it because I knew how you'd take it." Gabriella explained.

"Alright, spill already. I don't need an introduction to the bad news." Taylor said as she held one of Gabriella's pillows in her lap, watching as she started pacing again.

"Troy Bolton has been coming to the diner a lot lately." Gabriella told them, watching as they barely flinched, only seeing the smallest eyebrow rises from the both of them.

"Elaborate on that for us, would you?" Sharpay asked nicely, knowing she had no right to judge Gabriella, considering she was technically crushing on Zeke Baylor.

"Well, after practice or on the weekend he comes around to get a cheeseburger and he sits at the counter, so I'm obviously in talking range…"

"That doesn't mean you have to talk to him." Taylor said, getting elbowed harshly in the side by Sharpay who wanted Gabriella to continue.

"Ignore her." Sharpay said.

"Well, you know about the hospital visit I made, only I left out the fact that Troy came with me… and if he hadn't have come… I think I would have freaked out." Gabriella explained to them, watching as Sharpay sighed with a small smile.

"Okay, so he's not a bully to you, so what? It'll change." Taylor replied shortly, the anger that she was trying to hide became visible as she shrugged, looking at Gabriella.

"He kissed me." Gabriella said in almost a whisper.

"Huh?" Sharpay and Taylor said at the same time, glancing at each other momentarily.

"When we got back to the diner from the hospital he kissed me… and I kissed him back." She told them, sinking into her desk chair, wondering if telling her friends was a good idea.

"Gabriella!" Taylor said loudly, throwing her hands in the air as she tossed the pillow she was hugging to the side. "What were you thinking? We're talking about Troy Bolton here!"

"I know!" Gabriella exclaimed, shaking her head. "It happened, okay? I can't take it back."

"Just wait until the kids at school find out about this! You'll be pounded into the ground before Bolton has time to protest." Taylor replied.

"No one can find out about this." Gabriella said quietly with sternness in her voice that indicated that she was serious.

"So you're just going to sneak around with him?" Sharpay asked her. "That seems like you're asking for trouble."

"Sometimes you just have to take a risk." Gabriella shrugged, looking over at Taylor who was clearly upset.

"I won't tell anyone." Taylor said as she stood up from the bed, walking towards the door. "But don't expect me to protect you when an angry mob comes after you."

"Tay, where are you going?" Gabriella asked with a sigh as Taylor opened her bedroom door.

"I'm going to go pray for you. You'll need it." She answered, leaving Sharpay and Gabriella alone where they sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them thinking about what to say.

"So, what do you think?" Gabriella asked as she tucked her legs close to her chest, looking over at Sharpay from across the room.

"I know how you feel." She smiled softly. "Everything will work out if it's meant to."

"And if it doesn't?" Gabriella asked her.

"Then your carriage turns back into a pumpkin and you become diner girl again." Sharpay answered, laughing softly as she stood up from the bed, hugging Gabriella as she too stood up from her sitting position.

"Thanks for not freaking out."

"It was my pleasure. It's fun not being the drama queen once in a while." She laughed, giving Gabriella another hug before making her way to the door. "Tell him I said hey."

Gabriella smiled softly, nodding as she said, "I will."

A sigh of relief escaped from Gabriella's mouth as Sharpay disappeared down the hallway, glad that there were no tears or tantrums thrown. Now all she had to do was break it to Troy that their secret was out… and figure out what exactly they were now.

***

Troy jogged around his room, putting the laundry away that his mom had just brought him. His room was oddly clean today since he woke up early and had nothing else to do but to clean his very messy room. He couldn't sleep the night before and as much as he would hate to admit this to anyone, he knew it was because of the kiss he and Gabriella had shared the previous day. His mom passed his room, shaking her head to herself as she heard the humming coming from her son, knowing that she'd have to ask what was wrong with him later- his room was never clean.

"Troy, you need to eat breakfast before you pass out." She called to him as she skipped down the stairs, hearing Troy mumble an "okay" from his room.

Seconds later Troy appeared in the kitchen, still humming as he ruffled his sister's hair as she sat at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. He glided over to the refrigerator, pulling out the milk jug before pouring it into a bowl of dry cereal.

"What's wrong with you?" Bailey asked from her spot across from Troy, watching as he sat at the kitchen table happily.

"Nothing." Troy said through his full mouth, causing his sister to shake her head in annoyance.

"You were singing a Hannah Montana song in the shower this morning and your room is clean." She pointed out, fishing for a stray piece of cereal.

"I'm just in a good mood, is that really a bad thing?" He asked her.

"It is for you, sweet heart." His mom said with a smile from the kitchen sink. "The only time you're in a good mood is when you're up to something or are lying."

"That's not true." Troy said as he stood up with his empty bowl, getting eyed by his mom for not taking his time eating.

"I know my son." Mrs. Bolton said with a smile. "What are you up to? You're not planning on vandalizing one of the guys' houses again, are you?"

"Come on, Mom, stop worrying and besides… that was once." Troy said as he loading his dish in the dishwasher.

"You're lying." Mrs. Bolton said in a sing-song voice.

"Okay, okay! It was twice, I'm sorry!"

"Troy Bolton! I wasn't talking about that, but you're so grounded now." Mrs. Bolton said in shock, swatting her son with a dish towel.

Troy laughed softly, rolling his eyes.

"Mom, I think the question we should be asking him is 'who's the girl'." Bailey interrupted, coming over to where they were standing, exchanging a look with her mom.

A look of realization swept over Mrs. Bolton's face and she shook her head, wondering how she missed it.

"Who is she?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"Who is who?" Troy asked, faking a confused look as he leaned against the counter.

"Are you dating someone? Please don't tell me it's one of those times when you make out with the girl and call it commitment." She said with a sigh, wanting her son to be serious about something for once.

"Commitment? Troy?" They heard Mr. Bolton say as he walked into the kitchen, the white socks on his feet stained with a green color because he had just cut the grass.

"Troy's in love." Bailey told him, nodding with all seriousness.

"Ew, don't use the L word!" Troy said quickly, a look of pure horror crossing his face, causing his parents to laugh.

"The L word?" Bailey repeated. "You do have commitment issues!"

"No, I just don't like the word." Troy replied, shaking his head.

"Who is she?" His dad asked with a smirk on his face, knowing his son wouldn't want to have a family discussion about his relationship.

"There isn't anyone. If there was, don't you think I'd tell you?" Troy asked.

"No." The three of them said together, laughing as Troy shook his head.

Troy turned to leave, not wanting to talk anymore to his doubting family and as he did they asked him where he was going, that they wanted to know more, but he simply told him that he was going to work. He'd be working late.

***

Gabriella clicked the lock button on her car key, hearing the beeping sound of her car locking. She walked through the dark parking lot of the book store, walking slowly into the store after the automatic doors opened. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea. Troy's friends could be around, or even worse, he might not want to see her, but it was a chance that she had to take. She walked around the store for a little bit, acting as if she was looking for a specific book, and in reality she was, but she couldn't comprehend any of the titles; she only had one thing on her mind.

The shaggy hair that she spotted as she stood in front of the children's book caught her eye, but the bushy hair that was seen next to it made her sink into the comfy chair next to her where she quickly pulled a book about the ugly duckling in front of her face to hide herself.

She peeked over the book, seeing Chad laughing with Troy, and she couldn't help but smile as she saw Troy's smile, loving how happy he looked. He had on dark blue jeans and his work shirt, a pair of basketball tennis shoes covering his feet as he rocked back and forth while he went on with his conversation. She smiled again, reading the book in front of her, shaking her head at herself since it was a book for children four and up.

About ten minutes later she was jolted out of her trance that had occurred during the part in the book where the ugly duckling felt like no one accepted it when she heard a familiar voice.

"The ugly duckling? I don't think that's an appropriate book for you." She heard as she looked up, smiling softly as she saw Troy standing in front of her, smiling too.

Gabriella stood up, setting the book down on the chair and she shrugged, feeling somewhat awkward because she didn't know what to say.

"What were you doing hiding behind a book?" He asked with a laugh.

"I saw Chad." She said simply. "I thought it would be the best idea to be invisible."

"Probably." Troy replied with a nod.

"So, what have you been up to?" Gabriella asked as they both started to slowly walk around the store.

"Well, I've been here all day so nothing too interesting has happened. Seeing you is about as interesting as it's going to get." He replied, not intending on sounding as if she was uninteresting, but that's what it definitely sounded like to her.

Gabriella squinted her eyes at him, an offended look being somewhat hidden as she tried not to look hurt.

"Oh, no! I totally didn't mean it like that!" Troy quickly said, running a hand over his tired eyes as he shook his head, mentally kicking himself. "That came out wrong."

"It's okay." Gabriella replied with a small smile. "Our… friendship… is definitely going to take some getting used to."

"Yeah, it is." Troy nodded. "But I'm up for the challenge."

"Me too." She laughed. "So, I'm looking for a book."

"Name it and I'll find it." He smiled over at her.

"Alright, it's called 'Thanks' by Tom Tee." She told him, seeing a pondering look appear on his face as he thought of the book.

"I don't think I've ever heard of it." He replied honestly.

"Everyone always says that." She giggled. "That's why I can't find it, but I know it's out there!"

"Well, I'll keep an eye out for it, but I know it's not here now." Troy replied, fixing an out-of-place book.

Gabriella nodded, sighing softly as a silence fell upon them. Troy's arm brushed against hers and they both looked at each other, smiling secretive smiles as they continued their random walk around the store.

"What are your plans for the rest of the night?" Troy asked her, nodding politely at a passing customer.

"I was thinking about just relaxing and doing nothing. My mom's on a business trip so I'm home alone." She answered.

"Well, that's good. You're always working." He said.

"I have days off." She said with a laugh.

"Yeah, Thursdays." He laughed, winking at her.

"And today!" She laughed, realizing that it was actually the only Saturday she had off in a really long time.

"Wow, you're a slacker now." He smiled at her, laughing as she swatted him on the arm, laughing with him.

"Okay, since the book isn't here, I think I'm going to start my evening of relaxing early." Gabriella said as they neared the front of the store.

"Well, our visit was too short." Troy said with a laugh. "But have fun."

"Thanks. It was nice seeing you, Troy." She said with an awkward nod, causing Troy to laugh.

"This is so weird." He said in a sing-song voice, walking towards the cash register as Gabriella laughed at his comment, leaving the bookstore after watching Troy trail away for another hour of work.

***

Gabriella was currently engulfed in the romantic movie that was occupying the big screen TV in her family room and as the sad music erupted from her surround sound, she grabbed another handful of popcorn, happy as she breathed a relaxed sigh. There wasn't a light on in her house- something she'd probably regret later when she had to find her way to her room- but for now the only light that was visible was the light from the TV.

Suddenly, as Gabriella wiped tears from her face, there was a knock on the back door, causing her to scream loudly and nearly fall off of the couch. She placed her hand on her chest, feeling her heart pounding heavily and as she tip toed slowly towards the back door she began shaking her head, pissed and surprised all at the same time.

"What the hell," She began as she opened the door. "Are you doing using the back door?"

Troy chuckled as he saw her, her sweat pants and t-shirt surprising to him as he took in her appearance. He didn't mean to scare her, but he didn't think using the front door would be a good idea, considering someone could have seen him if they drove by.

"I didn't think using the front door would be a good idea." He explained. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, let me tell you, you did." She said with a raise of her eyebrows. "But that's beside the point. What are you doing here?"

"I felt like seeing you again. I was working so we couldn't really talk." He answered her, watching as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We can sit on the hammock if you want to." Gabriella told him, secretly telling herself it would be a bad idea to bring him into the house. She wasn't up to explaining to her mom when she got home that nothing had went on between the two, so staying outside was a much better idea.

"Sure." Troy said with a nod, backing away from the door as she stepped out.

They walked quietly over to the hammock, both standing in front of it as they tried to figure out a way to sit on it without falling off. Gabriella laughed as she and Troy caught their balance as the braided fabric underneath them would stop swaying side to side.

"This isn't going to work." Gabriella laughed, standing up as Troy tried not to fall off.

"Well, how about we lay on it instead of just sitting. It's probably less dangerous." Troy laughed as he held the hammock still so that Gabriella could lie down next to him.

Gabriella shook her head with a sigh as she plopped down on the hammock, giggling as it violently moved around with Troy next to her now. She was pressed up against his arm and was uncomfortable as his elbow went into hers.

"Alright, so maybe this was a bad idea." Gabriella said quietly, sitting up slightly when he moved his arm away from her, coming around her so that it came around her, causing her to be warmed as she pressed against his side.

"This is kind of awkward." Gabriella whispered as she realized how comfortable she was.

"I kind of like it." Troy said with a chuckle, turning to look at her.

The sky above them was clear and full of stars, but the summer-looking sky was the only thing that felt like summer because as they lay in the hammock, Gabriella realized how cold it was outside now that it was night time. She didn't intentionally snuggle against Troy, but she ended up doing so and he smiled softly as he saw the light of the movie inside flashing against the windows of the back of the house.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your night alone." Troy said as they lay there together.

"It's okay." Gabriella said quietly. "I'm glad you came, otherwise I would be crying like a baby as I watched 'The Notebook' for the fiftieth time."

"Oh, so you're one of those girls." Troy teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella laughed, poking him in the side, surprised when he flinched with a chuckle.

She eyed him, slowly moving her hand to his side again and then she started tickling him, laughing as he began to laugh hysterically, trying to get her to stop tickling him in his ticklish spot.

"We're going to fall off!" He said through his laugh, laughing harder as her laugh was heard next to his ear.

"You're so ticklish!" She laughed as she stopped, knowing that they would fall off if she didn't. "Troy Bolton is ticklish. I'm going to tell every high school around here that you're ticklish so they can use that against you while playing you in basketball." She laughed. "That would definitely be a sight to see."

"Hey, if that gets you to one of the games, I'll help spread the rumor." He laughed, feeling her hand lying against his side, ready to tickle him at any moment. "So are you ticklish? I think I need to get you back because now you know my weakness."

"The back of my thigh is really ticklish, but if you even think about touching me there I'd have to call your dad to report sexual assault." She smiled at him, although to him she seemed serious.

"Thanks for warning me." Troy said with a smirk, looking up at her because now she was leaning on her arms, which were now against his chest.

"Are you sure you don't have anything better to do right now other than lying with me on a hammock?" She asked him quietly as she looked at his blue eyes.

"Yeah, actually Chad and Zeke invited me over right as I was parking in the drive way, wondering if we could have one of our annual farting contests." He said seriously, seeing her smile falter slightly.

"Oh." She said with a nod. "You can go if you want to, I mean, I wouldn't want to keep you away from your friends or your weird bodily functions."

"I was joking." Troy said with a smile, running his hand that wasn't wrapped around her waist though her hair, so that it wasn't falling in her face.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm positive." Troy nodded. "I like talking to you, Gabriella. You're not like everyone else." He added.

"Wouldn't it be easier if I was?" Gabriella asked him somewhat sadly; feeling deep down inside that moments like these wouldn't last forever.

Troy shook his head slowly. Gabriella could feel herself being drawn closer to him as they laid there and as her heart beat extremely fast and as she tried to stop herself from doing what she wanted, she kissed him softly, not sure if he would pull away or not. Troy would be too afraid to admit this to anyone, but as he kissed Gabriella back, he felt closer to her than he had ever with any girl before. She made his heart beat faster and as she pulled away from him, he realized that she was the only girl that made him feel disappointed when he wasn't close to her.

"I'm sorry." Gabriella whispered. "I forgot we were just friends."

"So did I." Troy told her. "But like you said, I don't think we were meant to be friends."

Gabriella swallowed roughly, biting her cheek as her stomach twisted and turned. She nodded, surprised when Troy kissed her again and she smiled when he did.

"How do you know you want this?" Gabriella asked him, because after all, he could have any other girl he wanted.

"Because you're the only person who's been close enough to me to find my ticklish spot." He said seriously, but with a smile.

Gabriella smiled softly, kissing him again slowly.

"Troy," She began after they pulled away.

"Yeah?"

"Get your hand off of my ticklish spot." She said in a whisper.

"Oh. Right." He chuckled, lifting his hand away from the space too close to her butt and as he did she laughed too, hoping that they'd end up working out in the long run because as of now, she couldn't picture herself working with anyone else.

* * *

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**unknownbyhim22**


	10. Oops

**Aw, man! I woke up at the crack of dawn today so I would have time to update this story in the morning before I went to my aunt's house, but I didn't have time! Sorry that I made you all wait until the end of the day! For any new readers, I just want to let you know that I update on Tuesdays! There's no need to panic and or tell me to hurry up. :) I've already written this whole story, so all there is to do is wait until Tuesday rolls around! Well, Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter ten

Oops

The smell of dirt and earthworms wafted through the school hallways because of the rain that was falling outside and Gabriella smiled as she jiggled her rain coat, seeing the rain creating a puddle on the ground around her. She hung it on the hook in her locker and began pulling her binders that she needed out of her locker to put in her backpack. She heard a few clicks of someone's heels as they walked past her and when she glanced behind her she saw one of the head cheerleaders with an evil smirk on her face, eyeing her as she walked by.

"I'm pretty sure if looks could kill I'd be planning your funeral." Gabriella heard next to her, causing her attention to be taken away from the cruel girl.

Gabriella smiled when she saw her best friends at her locker, glad that they didn't dump her when they found out about her interest in Troy. Sharpay smiled softly back at her, while Taylor sighed softly, looking tired.

"How were your weekends?" Gabriella asked them both, closing her locker before leaning against the rough metal so that she was facing them.

"The usual," Taylor started. "Homework…"

"And shopping." Sharpay smiled.

"That's my girl." Gabriella joked with Sharpay as she noticed the brand new outfit that graced her tan body.

"So, have you exchanged spit with Troy anymore?" Taylor asked bluntly, causing both Sharpay and Gabriella to gasp, not expecting such a casual approach to the question.

"Whoa, Tay." Sharpay commented giving her a questioning look.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "I mean, have you proclaimed your love to him yet, or are you two taking it slow?" Taylor rephrased as she looked oddly bored.

"Uh… no." Gabriella answered unsurely. "Are you okay?"

Taylor let out a long and drawn out sigh that followed with a shrug.

"I just can't picture it." She said honestly. "I can't picture him looking at you like more than just some creeper that he saw you as before."

Gabriella felt her eye twitch as she noticed the emptying hallway, only seeing the doubt in her friend's eyes as she remained quiet. Sharpay swayed awkwardly in place, not wanting to interrupt the silence as she saw two best friends fighting to try to keep their friendship from disappearing.

The bell rang, echoing in the hallway.

"I guess I'll see you at lunch." Gabriella said to them with a nod, seeing Sharpay open her mouth to say something, stopping quickly though.

Gabriella felt a lump forming in her throat as the doubt about Troy increased in her mind. Yesterday she could barely wash her hair because she didn't want to get ride of the scent of Troy that lingered in her silky strands after they had laid on the hammock until morning hours and now, she was debating whether or not she would forget about him all together.

Because she wasn't paying attention, she didn't realize that someone was turning the corner of the hallway as she passed and she collided with them, feeling a hand pulling her towards the person so that she wouldn't hit the floor. As her eyes opened from their squint, she saw Troy smiling at her, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Hey." He said breathlessly as if not expecting her to be the one in his arms.

"Hey." She said with a small smile. "I wasn't paying attention."

"No worries." Troy said to her, letting his arms come back to his sides as she stood up straight.

Gabriella pushed some of her hair behind her ear and swallowed harshly as they stayed quietly in their spot by the crossroads of the hallways.

"You okay?" Troy asked her in concern.

"Of course, yeah." Gabriella nodded. "But I need to get to class. I'm late already."

Troy nodded, letting the subject go even though he didn't believe her.

"Have a good day." Gabriella said with a small laugh as she and Troy backed away from each other slowly.

"You too."

Troy turned away from Gabriella, noticing now Sharpay and Taylor standing by Gabriella's locker with surprised looks on their faces. He nodded to them, hearing a barely audible gasp from Taylor as he said hello to them.

"Ladies." He nodded, walking past them casually.

"Shit." Taylor exclaimed in a whisper, looking at Sharpay quickly. "I shouldn't have said that to Gabs!"

***

Gabriella sat alone at her lunch table, picking at her turkey sandwich- one that she wasn't finding appetizing at all. It had been four hours since she talked to Taylor and Sharpay and deep down inside she had a feeling that she over reacted. She and Troy were… not dating. They had kissed, sure, but dating wasn't possible for them, was it?

But now, Troy didn't matter, her friendship did and she knew that Taylor was upset with her and she had to find a way to make it up to her. Just as she was coming up with a plan to help Taylor forgive her, a familiar backpack was set on the table and as she looked up, her best friends were sitting on either side of her, smiling as if there was no need to ask for their forgiveness.

"So, I saw this guy in the hallway with one of my best girlfriends and they seemed to be in love." Sharpay said with a smile. "And I couldn't help but want the details."

"And I couldn't go any longer without apologizing." Taylor smiled. "I'm your best friend so I shouldn't fight you on this."

"Are you sure you're okay with this because if you really hate him I'll tell him it's not going to work out." Gabriella said to both of them, her eyes begging for an honest answer.

"That won't be necessary." Sharpay said with a shake of her head. "But we have to ask. How is this going to work if his friends don't know?"

"I can't answer that." Gabriella admitted. "But for right now I'm okay with you two being the ones that I could tell."

"Okay, since we're the ones you can tell _anything_ to… is he a good kisser or what? Because he looks like he would be!" Sharpay giggled, causing Gabriella to become wide-eyed with the blunt question.

"As much as I hate to agree with Shar, I do." Taylor said with a shake of her head.

"Well, I don't know, I mean… how do you know when someone is?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Oh, right! I forgot we were talking to miss-never-had-a-boyfriend." Sharpay smiled, getting a playful slap on the arm from Gabriella.

"Let's not say that in public." Gabriella giggled.

"Does he give you goose bumps?" Taylor asked her.

Gabriella shrugged, smiling inwardly.

"Does he make you smile after he kisses you?"

"Make you feel like he'll be happy kissing you for the rest of his life?"

"Umm all of the above?" Gabriella said unsurely, smiling softly as her friends started to squeal, causing many to draw their attention to the girls at the back of the cafeteria. Gabriella blushed as she saw Troy look over at the table, along with a few other jocks and he winked at her, seeing her laugh as her friends giggled together.

Surprisingly as the girls continued their laugh, a male sat down next to Sharpay, kissing her on the side of her forehead and the girls stopped laughing, looking over at the dark skinned boy who was risking a lot by his romantic gesture. Sharpay's eyes looked lovingly over at him, her hand going to his knee as she smiled at him.

"Hey, girls." Zeke said with a smile, not noticing the quieting jock table and the angry afro-haired male steaming with madness.

"Uh, Zeke, I think you sat down at the wrong table." Taylor warned him, giving Sharpay a small smile.

"No, I meant to sit here." Zeke explained. "If my friends were really my friends they'd let me sit here and accept the fact that I'm in love with a theater girl."

Taylor and Gabriella exchanged a friendly smile and Sharpay's expression was one of shock, as if hearing that out of his mouth wasn't expected. Zeke blushed softly as Sharpay let out a small squeal while exchanging a look with her friends.

It had been mere minutes since Zeke had sat down next to Sharpay when Chad and Troy suddenly appeared on the other side of the round table, both sitting, but definitely not in a how's-your-day-been kind of way, rather Chad looked like he was about to lunge at Zeke and Troy, well, Troy was caught in the middle of two worlds.

"What the _hell_ are you doing, _Zeke_?" Chad asked, sending spit flying across the table with the distinct emphasis of his friend's name. "How many times do I have to tell you that you are a disgrace to the male population?"

"A couple more times, dude. I haven't heard you yet." Zeke responded.

"Don't get smart with me, _Zeke_." Chad warned, shaking his head at the sight in front of him. It seemed that the whole cafeteria was quiet and listening in on the conversation as it continued.

"You know, Chad, how much longer are you going to act like a stubborn jack ass?" Zeke asked, barely flinching when Chad stood quickly, ready to jump his friend, but he was quickly pulled down by Troy and within seconds he was shoving Troy's hand away from his collar.

"You can forget about our friendship, man." Chad replied. "Troy and I can rule this school on our own and you three better watch out." He said, specifically looking over at the three quiet girls in front of him.

"Don't make threats, Chad." Zeke said seriously. "You wouldn't want that coming back to haunt you."

"The only thing haunting anyone is going to be your decision to date one of these freaks." Chad spat, stepping away with the table as he told Troy to come with him.

"Dude." Zeke said to Troy with a secret look.

Troy looked at his best friend who wanted someone to take his side and his heart sunk into his stomach. He knew he was being a hypocrite and as Chad called him again, he looked over at Gabriella who was giving him an understanding smile. The smile on her face as she sat between two sad looking girls hurt him the most because he knew he was hurting her and she was putting a fake smile on.

"I'm sorry." Troy said as he looked at Zeke, standing up from the table and backing away slowly.

The girls were eerily quiet as Troy disappeared through the lunch crowd with Chad, seeing the fuming look on the dark skinned boy's face as he ranted on and on to Troy. Zeke sighed heavily, standing up slowly with a lonely look on his face. He kissed Sharpay again on the side of her forehead, right next to her eye.

"I'll see you tonight, babe." He smiled softly, leaving the feeling of his hand on her back as he left her at the table with her friends.

"Did you hear that?" Sharpay asked quietly.

"That we better watch out, yeah." Taylor nodded with fear in her eyes.

"No, he said he loved me." Sharpay whispered with tears in her eyes. "Oops."

"What do you mean by 'oops'?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"That wasn't our intention… and… I forgot to tell him I loved him back."

The girls were quiet as tears appeared in all of their eyes, wanting to know why things that no one wanted to happen somehow always did and then, as if they counted to three to start all at the same time, they started to laugh, wondering why the heck forgetting to tell someone you loved them back was so funny.

***

Gabriella laughed as she wiped the counter off at the diner as Sharpay wiped a glob of ketchup off of her jeans with a curse word that rang through the calm area. After the incident at lunch, the girls decided that they'd spend the rest of the day together and since Gabriella had to work, Taylor and Sharpay were there to keep her company. They were sharing a plate of fries, laughing together as Gabriella told them they were a mess.

"We should come here more often." Sharpay said with a laugh, tossing her used napkin on the counter. "I forgot how much fun we used to have here."

"Well, it's definitely been a while, hasn't it?" Gabriella replied, taking an order from Samantha, handing it to Stephanie with a smile. "And you can bring Zeke if you want to. No one from East High comes around here."

"Except for a few." Taylor smiled, winking at Gabriella.

The girls laughed together, hearing the bells on the door ring as they did. Gabriella opened her eyes from their squint to see Troy making his way over to the counter and when he saw Sharpay and Taylor he wasn't sure if he should sit down or make it look like he was just picking something up. Gabriella exchanged a look with him, clearing the spot next to Taylor.

"Hey." Troy said to her with an unsure smile, sitting down next to Taylor.

"Hey, how was your day?" Gabriella asked him, ignoring the giddy smile on Sharpay's face.

"Eventful." He answered with a chuckle. "Sorry about lunch. I could have said something… but I didn't."

"It's okay." She smiled softly. "Chad's your best friend. You have to be on his side."

Troy shrugged, knowing that technically he didn't have to be.

"So, do you want your usual?" Gabriella asked him.

"Yeah." He nodded, smiling at her as she told Samantha to start up his usual.

"So we haven't formally met." Taylor said to Troy, sticking out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Taylor Mckessie. I've known you since third grade."

Troy laughed softly, shaking her hand with the slightest guilty blush.

"Troy Bolton." He nodded. "Sorry about the sandbox incident."

"Ah, no problem. I pushed Chad first." She smiled at him as Gabriella left to serve her customers.

"Hey, Troy." Sharpay said waving from her spot. "I heard you were a good kisser." She smirked, seeing a surprised expression cross his face.

"Who'd you hear that from?" Troy laughed with a shake of his head.

"Gabriella, Troy's order is ready!" Samantha called to her as she set the cheeseburger in a basket with fries in it on the edge of the kitchen window.

Gabriella glided around the counter, taking the meal from her with a smile and when she turned around to face her friends they were all snickering, obviously discussing something about her.

"What?" She asked seriously, setting down Troy's meal.

"Nothing." The three of them said together, laughing.

"Okay, so I'm gone for three seconds and you're already keeping secrets from me?" She asked playfully, not all that concerned with what they were keeping from her.

"We were just talking about Troy's kissing abilities." Sharpay told her, causing Gabriella's eyes to widen.

"I hate you." Gabriella replied under her breath.

"Yeah, yeah. Just like you hate spinach, tardiness, and love." Taylor nodded with a laugh.

"I understand the spinach, but the love part? I pegged you as a love girl." Troy said with an eyebrow raise, taking a bit of his cheeseburger.

"You have a lot to learn, Bolton." Taylor told him, smiling at Gabriella with a wink.

"We all do." Sharpay laughed, putting a lone fry in her mouth as she leaned against the counter.

After a laugh from Troy, his phone rang, the sound of the ring tone growing louder as he brought it out of his pocket. Gabriella went around the counter, going to fill up the old man's coffee that had come in minutes earlier. When she was coming back towards her friends Troy was standing up, pulling his coat back on as he set a five dollar bill on the counter. He smiled at her when he saw her walking over to him.

"Leaving already?" Gabriella asked him.

"Yeah. Chad needs me." He said with an eye roll.

"Well, tell him I said hi." Gabriella joked, causing a smile to form on Troy's face as he stood somewhat awkwardly in front of her, not knowing how to go about saying goodbye.

"I'll see you Monday." Troy told her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before heading towards the door.

"Have a good day." She laughed as he went out the door, giving her a nice wave as he jogged hurryingly along the sidewalk, disappearing from their views as the girls sat by the counter.

"Okay, who was that and what happened to the Troy Bolton who pushed me in the sandbox in elementary school?" Taylor asked Gabriella as she went around the counter, taking Troy's half empty plate.

"It looks like Gabriella put a spell on him." Sharpay laughed.

"What does that mean?" Gabriella asked with an eye roll, looking at her friends as she leaned against the counter facing them.

"He's falling in love with you." Sharpay explained. "And you've fallen for him."

"Please, that is not true at all." Gabriella told them with a shake of her head, feeling as if she had to defend herself against the assumptions.

"Listen, Gabs, we've known you our whole lives and we know the second something changes about you. I wouldn't be surprised if you not only love Troy, but you love love." Sharpay told her.

Gabriella opened her mouth to protest, but simply shook her head, grabbing the coffee from the back counter with a sigh.

"You both are crazy. I do not love love." She told them, leaving quickly as she went to visit George, the old man, who looked like he had a few questions of his own for her, like why she was suddenly kissing the sweaty guy.

"I wonder if she purposely left Troy out of that sentence." Taylor said to Sharpay as they looked over at Gabriella, who was clearly ignoring them.

"She did." Sharpay said quietly. "She just doesn't know it yet."

* * *

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**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	11. That was Close

**Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! :) A few people have said they wanted a dinner with the Boltons and oddly enough, that is what this chapter is about, so there you go! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter eleven

That was Close

Troy was singing loudly in the shower, lathering the shampoo in his hair into a good white foam and as the hot water stung his back, he heard a banging on the door, an urgent need for his attention, causing him to poke his head out from behind the shower curtain while yelling "what?"

"I need to talk to you." His mother yelled from behind the door.

"Can it wait?" He asked in annoyance. "I'm in the middle of something."

"No. Get out here." He heard her say, causing him to hop out of the shower, shampoos still in his hair as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

Opening the door cautiously, Troy eyed his mom as water dripped down his forehead. She sighed, shaking her head at her son because he hadn't finished rinsing before he got out of the shower. The water could be heard still running and a puddle was forming underneath him.

"Yes?" Troy asked with a sigh.

"Invite her over." She said simply, causing Troy to become instantly confused.

"Invite who?"

"The girl who makes you sing in the shower." She said as she headed towards his bedroom door, stepping over a few piles of clothes.

"This couldn't have waited?" He asked.

"No. The girl who makes miracles happen can never wait." She told him seriously. "We're having dinner at seven. I'm setting an extra plate."

"Mom, do you really think that's a good idea?" He asked with a groan.

"Unless you're hiding her from someone, no." She said as she disappeared out of his room, leaving him cold and wet in the bathroom doorway.

"That's the problem." Troy whispered to himself. "I am."

Tears formed in Troy's eyes as he stood there, holding the towel around his waist still and as he felt a burning sensation forming in his eyes, he realized the shampoo that was still on his head was sliding into his eyes, causing him to screech and hoot as he ran for the water.

***

Gabriella was surprised when she got the phone call from Troy, asking if she wanted to have dinner with his family, and she was even more surprised when he opened his front door to his house, grabbing her quickly and pulling her inside the house so that no one would see her. She fluffed her hair quickly as she pushed it out of her face as Troy closed the door behind her and she shook her head, laughing slightly as Troy breathed deeply.

"Did you run to the door or something? I could have sworn I heard you fall down the stairs." She told him with a quiet laugh, slipping her shoes off as she did.

"You'll never know." Troy replied with a smirk, running a hand through his hair. "I just want to warn you that my family most likely will smother you. When I told them that you were the one I've been seeing, they kind of freaked out."

"Why?" Gabriella asked in surprise, hoping that this dinner wouldn't be awkward or dangerous… it _could_ even be both. "Do they think I'm the school bully instead of you, cause you know, that would be really—?"

"No, no. And I am not the school bully. I simply…" Gabriella cut him off.

"Okay, we both know who the school bully is, but that's besides the point… why did they freak out?"

"You're the first girl that I've brought home who has a job, is passing _all_ of her classes, and doesn't have a DUI." He said with a slight chuckle as her eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" Gabriella asked in a whisper, hearing voices now from the kitchen as if everyone was now stepping inside from being outside.

"Not about everything." He laughed as he started to walk towards the kitchen, motioning for Gabriella to follow him. "But I am serious about my family. They really will—."

"Hey, Gabriella!" They heard Troy's sister exclaim from the kitchen table where she was setting the table, waving as if she was a mile away from her and she wouldn't be noticed otherwise.

Gabriella smiled over at her, continuing to smile as Mrs. Bolton rushed over to her, exclaiming something about being glad to finally meet her and she gave her a warm hug, the mom smell that floated around her lingered as she pulled away, still happy as can be.

Dinner had been awkward at first, but after Bailey asked the embarrassing questions, ones that consisted of talking about kissing, the L word, and school rivalry among students, all questions after that were a piece of cake and easy to answer.

Troy sat shaking his head at his sister as Gabriella laughed while giving him a playful nudge as she talked to Mrs. Bolton about school. When she looked back over at him, he was giving her a this-wasn't-my-idea-I'm-sorry look and she simply smiled at him, enjoying somewhat, her dinner with his family.

"So, you two have known each other for a while, haven't you?" Mr. Bolton asked them. "What made you decide to start dating now?"

"It kind of just happened." Gabriella explained to them with a small laugh. "I guess we learned to tolerate each other."

Troy chuckled from next to her, nodding at her answer.

"But with Chad and everyone, it makes everything complicated." Troy added in with a shrug.

"I think it's just ridiculous to have to hide your relationship from your friends, Troy." Mrs. Bolton said sadly as she looked at the two in front of her. "I'm sure he would understand."

Troy and Gabriella both laughed as they shook their heads, exchanging secretive glances with each other before looking back at Mrs. Bolton.

"He wouldn't." Troy said with a sigh.

"Yeah… and I don't think I'd want to be around when he did. I mine as well start packing my bags for college early, because Chad would make sure I never came back." Gabriella said to her, feeling Troy's arm against hers as they both sat close to each other, already done with their meals as they continued the conversation.

"I thought I raised you better, Troy." Mr. Bolton said with a shake of his head. "We taught you to accept everyone as they are."

Troy cleared his throat in guilt, occupying his vision with the empty plate that was in front of him as he shrugged.

"It's the power of the situation… I guess." Troy said to his dad, feeling bad that he ever was mean to Gabriella.

"Plus, I'm tough. I could take him if I had too." Gabriella giggled, causing Mr. Bolton to laugh too as he imagined Gabriella beating up Troy.

"I'd help you." Bailey said with a smile. "He'd deserve it."

"Thanks, sis." Troy said sarcastically.

"No problem, bro." Bailey replied with a smile.

The group sitting around the table laughed, smiling at each other because they were definitely enjoying their conversation and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton were glad that Troy found a girlfriend that wasn't inappropriate or dumb. Just as Bailey was about to ask another one of her embarrassing question, the door bell rang and Mr. Bolton stood up from the table to answer it.

"OH, HEY CHAD! WHY DON'T YOU COME IN?"

The group at the table gasped as their eyes widened when they heard Mr. Bolton trying to be obviously loud and within seconds, Troy was grabbing Gabriella's extra plate and running it to the kitchen sink while Mrs. Bolton grabbed her silverware and half full glass of milk. Bailey took Gabriella by the hand quickly and they both ran out the back door, sneaking into the backyard as the commotion behind them quieted behind the patio door.

"What do we do now?" Gabriella asked Bailey as they both looked around for a hiding spot.

"We'll hide in the tree house! Hurry up!" Bailey told her, as they both made their way towards the tree house and up the ladder.

"This is amazing!" Gabriella whispered to her as she finally had her feet on the wooden floor. "How long have you had this?" She asked.

Bailey turned from the window that looked out at the house and she crouched down on the ground of the tree house as Gabriella did.

"Troy and my dad built it before I was born." Bailey answered as she peeked out the door. "Troy won't admit it, but he comes up here to think still."

"Really? So is that cape his too?" Gabriella asked with a laugh.

"Yeah. He and Chad used to pretend they were super heroes and they'll deny it of course, but they still do."

"They use the capes and everything?" Gabriella asked in surprise.

"No." Bailey laughed. "But I've heard them talking about coming to the rescue for a girl or something… they said it would be like playing super heroes, but they'd actually _have_ a damsel in distress." She explained with a shake of her head. "Boys are just weird, you know?"

"Yeah… I know." Gabriella smiled.

The girls became instantly silent as they heard the back door open loudly, probably because Troy nearly knocked over a flower pot on purpose just to let them know that they were coming outside.

"Dude, clumsy much?" Chad asked with a laugh as he saw his friend nearly break his foot on the cement flower pot.

"I didn't see it." Troy laughed as they both walked out to the basketball court that was behind the tree house, paved perfectly into the corner of the yard. "So, what's up, man? Usually you're working out or something."

Gabriella scoffed with a shake of her head, jumping slightly when she felt Bailey put her hand over her mouth as she sent her a warning look. Gabriella nodded softly and held in a laugh as Bailey pulled her hand away.

"I wanted to talk about Zeke and his new Barbie." Chad explained with an obvious annoyance clear in his voice.

Gabriella's breathing slowed as she tried to listen to the conversation, wanting to know what Chad's problem really was. She looked over at Bailey who was also leaning forward somewhat in order to listen to the guys.

"His new girlfriend." Troy corrected as he picked the basketball up from the ground that he had just easily dunked into the basket. "Calling her a Barbie would be a compliment."

"Yeah, whatever you say." Chad said with an eye roll. "Here's the thing… we need to break them up."

"No." Gabriella whispered as she heard Chad's voice carry up to the tree house.

"Dumb ass." Bailey said with a shake of her head, getting a surprised look from Gabriella. Bailey shrugged as if her foul mouth wasn't anything new. "I'm Troy's sister… how else do you think I picked it up?" She whispered to her.

Gabriella opened her mouth to reply, but decided against it since Chad would hear them eventually if they continued to make noise. Troy jogged around the court as Chad did, both of them quiet for a minute.

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Troy asked him hesitantly, glancing up at the tree house momentarily.

"I don't know… harass her friends until she realizes that Zeke can't be any different than us… or we could always convince Zeke that Sharpay's just using him to get to the top." Chad said unsurely, not really having everything thought out yet.

"Harassing her friends isn't going to work because that's what we always do…"

"That's fine with me. We can just harass them for fun then." Chad said with a chuckle.

"Dude, aren't you tired of this?" Troy asked him as he stopped dribbling the ball.

"Tired of what?" Chad asked as he too stopped what he was doing.

"Of… bullying people. It's going to come back to haunt us, just like Zeke said." Troy said to him, wondering if this was the best time for a heart-to-heart conversation.

"No." Chad said somewhat angrily. "I hate those girls, you have no idea… I mean… they are so… so."

"Normal. They're normal… we just picked them to harass because of the sandbox incident!" Troy said with an angry laugh.

"Hell, they are not _normal_."

Gabriella fidgeted in her spot next to Bailey, feeling the young girl's arm link with hers as they both stayed quiet. Gabriella looked over at her, smiling softly as Bailey looked at her worriedly. Gabriella knew that this talk between the guys shouldn't be normal to her, but sadly it was and as much as it should bug her, she couldn't remember the last time it actually did.

"You've been holding a grudge with Gabriella because in third grade when I pushed Taylor in the sandbox, Gabriella told her never to like you or me… and we all know that you had a crush on Taylor… and still do!"

"I do not!" Chad said angrily. "That was so ten years ago!"

"Dude, whatever, but I don't know how much longer I can continue with this stuff." Troy admitted. "I'm not going to ruin Zeke's relationship just because we're jealous of it."

"We're not jealous… we're pissed that he has turned to the dark side!"

"I don't know how long it's going to take you to realize this, Chad, but we're the dark side." Troy said with a shrug, throwing the ball to Chad forcefully. "We're just too stubborn to stop being on that side."

"God, Troy, are we going to start holding hands around the campfire? What is this, Oprah?" Chad asked as he tossed the ball back to Troy.

"Sorry, dude, my mom made me watch Dr. Phil today. It was a joke." Troy said with a laugh that was obviously faked.

"Good. You scared me for a second." Chad said with a laugh.

Gabriella felt Bailey nudge her quickly and when Gabriella looked over at her, her eyes widened. Bailey was about to sneeze and before Gabriella could even try to stop it, Bailey let out a loud sneeze. Gabriella pulled Bailey closer to her, covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Bailey buried her face against Gabriella's arm as she waited to see if the boys below heard them.

"What was that?" Chad asked as he looked up at his friend's tree house. "Is someone up there?"

"Uhhh…." Troy began to panic as he looked up at the tree house, seeing it from a different angle than Chad could because from where he was standing, he could see Bailey and Gabriella clearly, both of them trying to stay hidden. "No! I didn't hear anything, Chad."

"I think someone is up there, dude. Is Bailey home?" Chad asked as he stepped closer to the tree house.

"It's probably just Bailey, yeah…" Troy said as he cleared his throat awkwardly, grabbing his friend's arm so that he wouldn't go any further. "She's having some girl issues lately, if you know what I mean… so it would be best to stay away."

"Thanks for the warning, dude. I wouldn't want to get caught up in that." Chad said with a small laugh.

"Troy!" Mrs. Bolton stuck her head out of the back door, waving quickly at the two boys in her backyard. "I just realized that you are grounded!"

"For what?" Troy asked, trying to sound as if he was surprised by her accusations.

"You didn't take the trash out when I told you. Chad, honey, you better head home. You know the rules." She said as she stepped out onto the patio with her hands on her hips.

"Aw, come on, Mrs. Bolton. Are you sure you can't let it go this once?" Chad asked with pleading eyes.

"Sorry boys." She said with a shrug, smiling softly as Chad said goodbye to Troy, tossing him the basketball before saying goodbye to her, then making his way out of the backyard through the back gate.

Everyone in the backyard held their breath as they waited a few minutes until they heard Chad's car pulling away from the house. Troy let out a sigh of relief as he let the basketball in his hands fall from them quickly. Mrs. Bolton and Troy both heard a few sneezes come from the tree house and another sigh of relief as Gabriella's feet became visible as they lengthened from their tight fold.

"Thanks, mom!" Troy said as he jogged towards the tree house ladder.

"I'm only helping this once, Troy. Next time, you're telling him." She said with a sigh as she turned to go back in the house.

Troy climbed up the ladder quickly and caught his breath as he stood in the center of his tree house, looking down at his sister and girlfriend who were both sprawled out on the floor as they breathed deeply.

"That was close!" Bailey said as she looked up at her brother.

"Thanks for helping me, Bailey." Troy said as he helped his sister up.

"I was helping Gabriella." Bailey insisted as she brushed her pants off, heading towards the ladder of the tree house when she decided that leaving the two alone would be best. She exchanged a look with Gabriella before disappearing out of their sights, leaving Troy to look down at Gabriella.

"Let me help you." Troy said as he took Gabriella's hands in his, pulling her up so that she was facing him.

Gabriella swallowed roughly as she looked into Troy's eyes that seemed to be apologizing to her. They stood there for a few seconds, hand-in-hand as they tried to think of something to say to each other.

"Chad seemed pretty upset." Gabriella said first, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure he'll cool off eventually." Troy said to her, squeezing her hands in his softly.

"You don't think he's going to try to break Sharpay and Zeke up, do you?" Gabriella asked him. "Maybe we should warn them."

"He'll try, but he won't succeed." Troy replied. "Zeke likes Sharpay too much."

Gabriella smiled softly as she thought of the two.

"Good because Sharpay is definitely falling hard for Zeke."

"What do you mean?" Troy asked her with an honest wondering look on his face. "Is she in…lo…?" Troy stopped mid sentence, not wanting to say the word he hated the most.

Gabriella's eyes squinted in confusion as she looked at him, laughing softly when she realized what he meant. She let go of his hands, putting her own on his muscular arms as she looked up at him.

"Is she in love with him?" Gabriella finished for him, smiling as he cringed obviously.

"Shh." Troy said quickly, putting his index finger to her lips, trying to erase the word from the air. "The tree house has virgin ears to the word… the 'L' word." Troy nodded truthfully.

"The 'L' word? Really Troy?" Gabriella giggled as she shook her head.

"That word gets people in trouble, Gabs." Troy explained.

Gabriella's heart pounded as she heard her nickname escape from his lips and she smiled softly as she nodded in understanding.

"I won't say the 'L' word, then." Gabriella smiled. "But I do have to say goodbye." She told him.

"You can't say that word either." Troy said seriously, breaking his seriousness with a soft chuckle that caused goose bumps to appear on her arms.

"Then I'll just say see you later." Gabriella said with a playful eye roll. "I have to get up early tomorrow to work and I'll regret staying out late."

"I guess I'll see you bright and early then. I have a weekend workout with the team and it starts early, so I'll stop by for breakfast." Troy said with a smile, brushing the stray pieces of hair that fell in front of Gabriella's face out of her way.

"Just how I want to start my day." Gabriella replied jokingly.

"Haha. Very funny." Troy said with a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Gabriella said as she slowly let go of Troy.

Troy nodded, going towards the ladder first, followed by Gabriella who giggled as she rolled her eyes, hearing Troy's _boyish_ comments about her behind. Gabriella hopped from the ladder when she got to the bottom and smiled as Troy took her hand in his, walking with her to the back gate of his house before giving her a long kiss in the shadow of the trees and tall bushes. Gabriella smiled as she pulled open the back gate, winking at Troy as he stood with a subtle grin on his face as he watched her.

"Tell your parents I said thanks for dinner." Gabriella said as she stepped out of the backyard.

"I will. See you in the morning, Gabs." He smiled as his hands snaked into his pockets while he rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Night." Gabriella called out as the gate closed behind her, blocking Troy from her vision as she slowly walked down the driveway, ready to make the quiet walk home under the stars as she thought about the guy who made her forget about the problems they were both hiding.

* * *

**Like it? Review!**

**Much love, **

**unknownbyhim22**


	12. Green Monster

**OHMYGOSH! I forgot it was Tuesday! I'm so sorry! My mind has been elsewhere due to the fact that I had to go to a Yearbook meeting at school today to pick the pages I'm doing, so this is a few hours late! I usually like updating in the morning. Well, I guess better late than never! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter twelve

Green Monster

Gabriella yawned as she looked around at the empty diner. Usually, it would be another hour or so before the early risers even got there and on any regular day she would be sitting on one of the bar stools, taking a short nap as she waited for the ringing of the bells hung up on the door to wake her up. But now, she was tapping her foot somewhat anxiously as she waited for Troy while inhaling the morning smell of the breakfast food being cooked behind her.

Finally, after the third time looking at the clock hung up by the bathrooms of the diner, she heard the familiar bells chime, causing her to look quickly towards the door in excitement. In a way she laughed at herself, because she was currently excited to see Troy since a few weeks ago she would have rolled her eyes and tried not to throw something breakable at him.

She couldn't help but feel her heart beat quicken as she saw him walking towards her in his navy blue t-shirt and white basketball shorts. His hair was damp as if he had just taken a shower and his face looked tired and fresh. She smiled at him as he did, leaning slightly over the counter so he could greet her with a morning kiss.

"Morning." He smiled at her after they kissed, sliding into his usual bar stool across from her.

"You look tired." Gabriella noted as she leaned against the back counter, crossing her arms over her chest as she felt a cool breeze from the air duct above her.

"That's because I was up all night thinking of you." He teased, folding the menu that he had just taken out from between the salt and pepper shakers back into thirds as he figured out what he was going to have on this early morning.

Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully at him before asking him what he wanted, calling to Samantha to start an eggs and bacon special for him once he finally picked between that and pancakes.

"So, what's practice going to consist of today?" Gabriella asked as she got a glass of orange juice ready for him, sliding it in front of him carefully so that it wouldn't spill over the edges of the short cup.

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. Since championships are just around the corner we'll be going over plays, which won't be so bad, but then we'll start to jog and weight train, which is never fun." Troy said with a shake of his head, running his hands over his tired face.

"I'm sure it'll be worth it though when you win." Gabriella said with a shrug.

"How do you know we'll win?" Troy asked with a soft smile, wondering if she had even _seen_ a game of theirs.

"I've been going over your statistics and it's almost a given." She explained, pulling out a packet of paper that was tucked in her apron, setting it in front of him.

"You've definitely surprised me, Gabs." Troy said with an impressed look. "I never knew you cared."

"I could say the same to you." She said with a quick raise of her eyebrows, grabbing the plate of his that Samantha had just handed to her through the kitchen window.

"Thanks." Troy said with a chuckle as she set his plate in front of him, tossing him come silverware so that he could start to eat.

Gabriella nodded with a smile as she left him alone for a few minutes so that she wouldn't be staring at him as he ate his breakfast. She started to unstuck the chairs that were flipped upside down on the tables in the middle of the diner and after she had un-stacked them all, she went back behind the counter, seeing that Troy was only half way done with his meal. She set down a few more napkins for him with a smile, observing the way that when he ate, all of his food was separated perfectly, as if he didn't like it if his food was touching.

"How much longer do you have until you have to leave?" Gabriella asked him curiously.

"Why? Are you sick of me already?" Troy asked with a playful smile.

"No." Gabriella laughed. "I was just wondering."

Troy nodded, winking at her.

"About twenty minutes." He answered her.

Gabriella nodded, going over to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup of coffee and as she was pouring some cream into it, seeing the bright whiteness of the substance swirling into the blackness of the coffee, the bells on the doors chimed again, causing her to look over her shoulder to see a guy about her age in basketball clothes walking towards the counter. She exchanged a worried look with Troy, wondering if he was a Wildcat, but he gave her the impression that he didn't know him.

"Good morning." Gabriella said with a waitress-like smile.

"Morning." He nodded at her. "Can I have a cup of coffee, please?" He asked as he let out a short yawn, excusing himself after for his somewhat rude behavior.

"Do you want cream or sugar?" Gabriella asked as she poured regular coffee into a mug.

"Both are fine." He answered, thanking her when she set it in front of him.

"Do you want anything else?"

"I guess I'll just have some pancakes." He shrugged, yawning again as she turned to tell Samantha his order.

"What has gotten you up so early?" Gabriella asked him. "You don't seem like a morning person." She observed.

The guy smiled softly, feeling the warmth of the coffee cup against his palms as he held it lazily in front of him.

"I have a morning basketball practice." He answered. "I'm definitely not excited about it."

"What school do you go to?" Troy interrupted the conversation, turning his attention to the guy next to him, rather than keeping his eyes set on Gabriella's friendly smile.

"West High." He answered as he cleared his throat quietly. "We're in the championship again."

"Yeah?" Troy said as if he was excited to for the guy, causing Gabriella to laugh softly with a shake of her head. "Me too."

"Oh, really? You're a Wildcat?" He asked with an interested expression.

"Yeah, more like _the _Wildcat."

Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, taking his empty glass from the counter to fill it back up again with orange juice. She grinned as the guy next to her boyfriend tried to figure out who exactly he was.

"What's you name?"

"Troy Bolton, you?"

"Chase Davidson…. Dude, it's an honor to meet you. You're a legend around here."

Troy looked surprised as he nodded with an impressed smile, exchanging an egotistical look with Gabriella.

"I guess you could say that." Troy replied.

"It's funny because my friends hate you." Chase explained with a shrug.

"Mine too!" Gabriella said cheerfully as if having this one thing in common with him was something worth talking about.

"How's that?" Chase asked with a smirk, seeing Troy shifting in his seat. "You're a Wildcat too, aren't you? Gabriella Montez?"

Gabriella's excited expression changed slowly into one of wonder as she looked at the guy in front of her and at the jealous look that was consuming Troy's features. Chase looked at the both of them quickly, wondering why she wasn't answering him.

"My friends come around here a lot…" He explained with a soft smile. "They've talked to you before."

"Oh!" Gabriella nodded, smiling again, glad that he wasn't some kind of creep. "I'm sorry; I wasn't sure how you knew that." She explained.

"It's okay. I should have said so first." He nodded, noticing that his food was ready as the cook behind Gabriella handed Gabriella his plate, which she set in front of him after setting down silverware for him. "So, doesn't everyone at East High like Troy?" He asked Gabriella as if Troy wasn't right next to him, there to answer that question himself.

"Not really." Gabriella laughed. "The basketball team is what you would call… royalty?" She tried to explain. "Me and my friends aren't exactly on the same class system, if you will."

"Well, I guess West High is better at at least one thing more than East High." Chase said with a satisfied nod as he took a bite of his pancakes.

"What's that?" Troy grumbled from next to him.

Gabriella just now picked up on the fact that Troy wasn't exactly in the happy mood he used to be in when he first sat down. Now, the jealousy was becoming noticeable and in a way, he looked offended by what Gabriella was telling this complete stranger about.

"We actually get along with everyone at our school and we definitely don't pass up beautiful girls like this one over here." He said to him, pointing to Gabriella who was blushing somewhat as she began to look awkwardly uncomfortable.

Troy pulled out a five dollar bill and tossed it carelessly onto the counter next to his plate. He got up from his seat, clasping his hand tightly onto the guy's shoulder.

"Good for you." He said sarcastically. "I'll see you in the championship."

"You too, man. It was nice meeting you." Chase nodded.

Troy nodded, glancing at Gabriella before going towards the door of the diner, where he pulled it open quickly to leave. Gabriella bit her lip as she silently communicated with Samantha before turning to Chase, smiling quickly.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" She asked him as she started to make her way around the counter.

"Yeah, sure." Chase said with a shrug, going back to his plate of food.

Gabriella picked up her pace as she kept her eyes on Troy through the large window of the diner. She sighed as the wind from outside blew forcefully against her as she turned out of the diner.

"Troy! Wait!" Gabriella exclaimed after him, putting her hands on her hips as she stood in front of the diner window, not about to chase after him as if it was _her_ fault that the West High Knight had decided to come into the diner for breakfast.

Troy slowed a few feet away from her, taking a deep breath to calm his anger before turning to face her. He couldn't help but feel old feelings coming back for her as he saw her somewhat pissed expression, and he used all of his might to push them back where they belonged.

"Yes, dear?" He asked sarcastically, seeing her eyebrow raise in response.

"Why are you mad?" She asked simply.

Troy laughed to himself, thinking that she should know why he was. He sighed slowly, trying again to regain his composer as he walked closer to her so that they were of talking distance.

"I don't know, maybe because you just told a Knight why everyone at _my_ school hates _me_." He explained to her.

"Okay, everyone doesn't hate you; I just told him that my friends did."

"I thought they didn't anymore, Gabs." Troy said to her. "And I can't believe you tell random strangers things like that."

"Come on, Troy. It's just what waitresses tend to do unintentionally. We see so many different people during the day and we know that we won't see most of them ever again, so what's the hurt in talking about things?"

"Um, maybe when you're talking about someone when that person is sitting right next to you." Troy tried, shaking his head in annoyance. "Whatever, it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, because now you're mad at me." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"I'm not mad at you." Troy stated. "I'll just use this memory to help me beat the Knights, okay?"

Gabriella poked her cheek with her tongue as she felt a prickling feeling in her eyes. She blinked quickly a few times before nodding in agreement. Troy stepped closer to her, sighing as he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'll see you later." He told her.

"'Kay." She nodded.

Gabriella watched as Troy turned around and started to make his way towards the diner parking lot, where he unlocked his car slowly, sliding into the driver's side as soon as he did. Gabriella went back into the diner, walking back to the counter where Chase was finishing his meal, a ten dollar bill set next to it. He handed Gabriella the money when he saw her.

"Keep the change." He said as he stood up from the bar stool.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's the least I could do since I definitely created that awkward moment between you and your boyfriend." He chuckled.

"Sorry that I didn't warn you or anything." Gabriella shrugged as she stuck the bill into the cash register.

"No problem. I just have to be careful at the championship game." Chase said with a shake of his head, laughing at himself in a way.

"Yeah… wear protective padding." Gabriella joked.

"Thanks for the warning." Chase nodded, walking towards the door of the diner to leave Gabriella with the soon-to-be empty diner.

"Don't practice too hard."

"Nice try." He smiled as he gave her a small wave, disappearing around the corner of the diner, going in the opposite direction Troy had gone when he left.

Gabriella let out a stressful sigh as she slouched against the counter, not exactly happy with the start of her day. She had thought it would have been a good thing to see Troy first thing in the morning, but apparently, he wasn't a morning person and mixing a non-morning person with a rival _and_ her non-royal self probably wasn't the best move to make on her part.

***

Troy sprinted across the floor of East High's gym, seeing Chad and Zeke out of the corners of his eyes as he turned quickly to sprint back to the other side of the court. His lungs were burning as his legs began to slowly start to feel like jelly while he pushed himself to go faster to the other side for his last sprint. When his dad blew the whistle to signal that practice was coming to an end, Troy used the energy he had left _not_ to fall to the ground and take a needed nap on the sweaty gym floor.

"Alright, guys, gather around." Mr. Bolton called out to the boys, gesturing with his hands for them to circle around him. Once the team was by him, all catching their breath, he began his talk. "If this practice was any indication of what next month's game is going to be like I know we're going to beat those Knights into the ground!" Mr. Bolton cheered, causing the young boys around him to cheer as they thought about their soon-to-be victory.

"But." He boomed.

The guys stopped cheering, claming down as they looked at the now serious coach before them.

"I wouldn't be proud of that win with the way you are all acting towards each other." He said seriously, exchanging a secretive look with his son who was in the front of the group next to Chad. "What's been going on, guys?" He asked in a pleading manner. "Why wasn't _anyone_ but Troy passing the ball to Zeke today? We all know that Zeke is one of our key players for all of our plays that we've been practicing since last year!"

The guys were quiet as most of them shrugged, looking guiltily at the ground.

"It's because he's dating that Barbie." Jason spoke up.

"I'm sorry; I don't see Zeke as the type to date a plastic girl's toy." Mr. Bolton said with a raise of his eyebrows, wanting a more respectful description of the girl Zeke was dating.

"He's dating Sharpay Evans." Brian Thompson, another player on the team, elaborated. "She's a theater geek."

"I don't see the problem, boys." Mr. Bolton replied.

"Come on, Coach." Chad said as he shook his head. "Guys like us don't date girls like that."

"Guys like you don't date anyone, as far as I'm concerned." Mr. Bolton corrected him, causing a few of the guys to let a mocking 'ohhh' out. "If my daughter came home with any of you, I'd have a heart attack."

"We're not that bad." Jason laughed.

"But you are." Mr. Bolton nodded. "You have to respect each other! You have to accept the fact that Sharpay is the person Zeke wants to be with. Don't go around like a bunch of sour faced girls who just found out that their boyfriend cheated on them! Most of you have been friends since kindergarten! Don't let your selfishness ruin that."

Troy cleared his throat quietly, thinking of Gabriella as his dad looked his way, and then scanned the rest of the team in front of him.

"Did any of you hear what I even said?" Mr. Bolton asked with a shake of his head as he saw the blank faces before him. "Alright… since you're acting like a bunch of girls, I guess I'm going to have to have a long sob-story talk with you."

The guys groaned loudly as they heard their coach. None of them wanted to stick around to talk about _feelings_ or _relationships_. Zeke looked over at Troy who was in some kind of trance as he looked at the ground.

"Zeke, why do you like Sharpay?" Mr. Bolton asked. "I want the guys to hear why you're the only respectable guy I see today."

"Umm…" Zeke started unsurely, looking over at his coach, and then at his team as they all looked at him in shame. "Sharpay tells you how it is…she doesn't beat around the bush or anything…" He paused as he heard a chuckle from Chad and Jason. "She's beautiful, which is obvious, and she's always happy unless you mess with her friends. She's talented… and well, she likes basketball… a lot."

Mr. Bolton nodded as he patted Zeke on the shoulder, looking out at the rest of his team.

"Yeah right. I bet she couldn't tell us what a basketball looks like." Chad said with an eye roll.

"Dude… her dad owns the Lakers!"

The team gasped as they looked at Zeke with wide eyes, all with their mouths hanging open in shock as they tried to process this unexpected realization. Troy held in a laugh as he looked over at a smirking Zeke.

"Yeah. And her dad actually offered to get us all tickets to the NBA Finals, but because you've all been so mean to her and her friends, she decided against it and is now only taking me." He laughed, feeling happier now that he told them what he had been wanting to.

"WHAT? ZEKE!" The team screamed in shock, all obviously upset with the news that Zeke was telling them, but most of them knew that they deserved it and were now regretting not passing him the ball in practice.

"Maybe you'll think twice about being mean to my _girlfriend_ and her friends." Zeke smiled. "See you later, team. This was a great bonding experience." He said sarcastically as he walked over to his gym bag, grabbing it quickly before leaving the gym, not wanting to be around his so called friends; ones that he thought would always be there for him. No matter what.

"I hope you're all feeling pretty crappy right now." Mr. Bolton said with a nod. "Practice is over."

* * *

**Like it? Review!**

**Much love, **

**unknownbyhim22**


	13. The 'L' Word

**So I was sitting here reading stories on fanfiction and my sister walks in and says "Are you updating today?" And I replied with a "No, it's Monday." Obviously, she convinced me otherwise and I'm apologizing now! Sorry! I totally forgot it was Tuesday! But, here is the next chapter, a few hours late, but still here. Enjoy!**

* * *

Loving Love

Chapter thirteen

The 'L' Word

"Wow, so he actually said that?" Gabriella asked Troy as she handed him another stack of books while he stood on the moveable ladder leaning against the book shelves.

It was midnight and the book store was closed, leaving an empty store and the only additional sound being the music softly playing from the speakers around for Gabriella and Troy to listen to as they worked. Troy was usually the one to stock new books and rearrange the store because he was the only employee who didn't have a liable excuse to leave. He nodded as he put the books that Gabriella handed him onto the high shelf and slowly stepped down when he was done.

"Yeah, and he was pissed too. My dad kept looking at me as if I was about to spill my secret to the whole team; Like it would have been easier that way." Troy rolled his eyes as he thought of his dad's expectations, picking up the empty box at his feet so that he could fold it into a small form.

"Well, I can see why he wants you to tell your team, considering what happened the other night when I came over." Gabriella nodded, fixing an out of place book in front of her. "But I don't think he really understands the depth of our… previous hatred for each other."

Troy sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes, picking up a heavy box of books before walking over to the teen section of the book store, setting the box down once he and Gabriella found a spot for the new supply of paper backs.

"Did you really hate me?" Troy asked quietly as he knelt on the floor next to Gabriella, pulling the sturdy box open.

"Did you _really_ hate me?" Gabriella said as she looked at him, feeling his arm brush up against hers as he looked over at her.

Troy shrugged, looking away from her when her brown eyes looked into his somewhat sadly. He began slowly arranging the books on the shelf as Gabriella cleared her throat next to him.

"I think that answers your question." Gabriella nodded, taking a pile of books from the box so she could hand them over to Troy.

"Do you remember our seventh grade dance when you danced with that one kid… Tanner something?" Troy remembered, breaking the sad silence filling the air as some kind of sad song played above them.

"Tanner Goodman." Gabriella remembered, nodding her head with a soft smile.

"I remember seeing you dancing with him in your cute little white dress as Sharpay and Taylor danced with their dates." Troy said with a soft chuckle, continuing with the stacking of the books.

"Oh, I remember that too, Troy." Gabriella said with a shake of her head. "You poured Hawaiian Punch all over me and him. You ruined my dress."

Troy nodded, remembering too the mean reaction he had to seeing them dancing together. He also remembered the tears that filled her eyes when she had glared at him evilly, leaving the dance with her friends as Sharpay threatened to sue him.

"I was so jealous of him." Troy admitted.

"Of course you were, otherwise you wouldn't have done it." Gabriella nodded with a sarcastic tone in her voice as she looked over at Troy's side view.

"Wait, you knew?" Troy asked in surprise, looking over at her as he stopped what he was doing.

"At the time I technically didn't, but then when I came home crying my mom had to convince me that boys are mean to girls because they like them." Gabriella told him.

"Well, I didn't _like_ you." Troy denied.

"Why else would you have done that to me then?"

Troy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, glancing over at Gabriella who looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, so maybe I did, but at the time I didn't even know it." Troy smiled sheepishly, rolling his eyes playfully when Gabriella laughed at him softly. "But, what I mean to get at is that… I regret doing those kinds of things to you."

Gabriella looked at Troy carefully, seeing the vague blush that appeared on his cheeks as he apologized to her for probably the first time since he met her. She felt goose bumps appear on her skin as they both sat quietly, feeling the apology sink in.

"Me too." Gabriella finally said. "Because maybe things would be a lot different now, you know? If you and Chad would have figured out earlier that Taylor and I pushed you in the sand box because we liked you guys, then maybe you and I wouldn't be sitting here at one in the morning stacking books together because this is the only time we can be here together without being caught."

"You liked me then?" Troy asked guiltily.

Gabriella shrugged as she leaned against him slightly as they stared at the colorful books in front of them.

"In a way, I always have."

Troy smiled as he looked at her, their faces only inches apart as they leaned against the book shelf behind them. Gabriella took Troy's hand in hers, entwining their fingers together softly as they sat still, both focusing on being together, both looking at the books in front of them, and both holding in a few words that could have been said in this moment as they sat among the rows of books, listening to the quiet music.

"Gabs…" Troy started slowly.

Gabriella lifted her head from his shoulder, turning to face him as he sat in what looked to be shock. Just by looking at him, Gabriella could tell that his heart was pounding and that he had something on his mind.

"What?" She asked in a whisper, not wanting to interrupt his _realization_ by a loud response.

"Uh…"

Gabriella tilted her head slightly in confusion, seeing that he was kind of nervous while still holding her hand in his.

"What?" She repeated in the same tone.

"I think I love you." He whispered to her as if he was trying to keep it a secret, but still wanting to let her know.

Gabriella felt her breath catch in her throat as her heart beat quickly inside of her. Her hands, she knew were probably sweaty now as they rested in Troy's and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out as she sat in shock. Gabriella couldn't breathe as she let go of Troy's hand, feeling her head spin as what he admitted to her echoed in her memory. She kissed him quickly on the cheek before standing up, stepping over the box of books that blocked her path.

"I think… I think I have to go." She nodded, looking down at him.

Troy closed his eyes as the dinner he had hours before debated about coming back up. This is why he never said the 'L' word. The 'L' word got people in trouble, and it definitely broke hearts because his heart was currently sinking into his stomach, causing him to regret admitting his feelings to her.

"Okay." He said with a nod. "See you later."

"Goodnight." Gabriella squeaked as her voice cracked while she took a few more steps away from him.

"Yeah. Goodnight." He replied, staying in his spot on the floor.

Gabriella walked quickly down the row of books and when she got a good distance away from where Troy was, she ran. She ran to her car and drove home quickly and she ran into her room where she tried _not_ to hyperventilate as she sunk into her bed. She definitely wasn't expecting Troy to use the word he hated the most and she didn't expect to run away from the word like she had. She simply hated love—At least she was supposed to anyways.

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**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	14. Hating Love

**Hey everyone! I remembered it was Tuesday! :) I have a yearbook meeting, so I got up earlier to post this for you guys. A lot of you were shocked about Gabriella's reaction to Troy, so let's see what happens next! Enjoy!**

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Loving Love

Chapter fourteen

Hating Love

It had been a day since Troy had told Gabriella that he had a feeling that he really did love her and now it was no longer the weekend, bringing the awkwardness to the school hallways and into the classroom. Gabriella hadn't seen Troy yet since that night and she had a feeling that she would regret not telling him that in a way she felt the same feelings he did.

At lunch, she sat on the opposite side of her usual seat because her usual spot gave a clear viewing distance of Troy and today she wasn't into seeing him interact with his friends because the one true friend she thought he had had sat next to her, talking excitedly about the NBA Finals with Sharpay.

Now, Gabriella was walking down the hallway with Taylor and Sharpay towards her locker to get her books and binders for the rest of her day. She sighed as she carelessly twirled the lock, opening it quickly just like she did any other day, but when she opened it there was nothing in it.

"Uh, guys…" Gabriella said to her friends so that their attention was drawn to her empty locker. "Where's my stuff?" She asked them.

"I have no idea!" Taylor said as she saw what her friend was talking about. "But I bet we could find out." She spat as she heard the obnoxious giggling coming from behind them.

The three girls turned to see three other girls, all dressed in their East High cheerleading outfits as they laughed at the sight before them. Gabriella breathed deeply as she slammed her locker harshly.

"Where's my stuff?" She asked them as her friends sent them dangerous glares.

"The last time I saw anything of yours, the boys were heading to gym class with it." One of them smiled her alpha smile, sending Gabriella a pitiful look as she walked in the opposite direction with her posy.

"Where are you going?" Sharpay called after Gabriella when she turned quickly and started to walk fiercely down the hallway.

"To get my stuff back."

When Gabriella charged into the gym, she saw that that too was empty causing her to look around for a sign of the team that she knew would take her stuff. When she heard the talking and laughing coming from the locker room doors, she immediately went towards the door, pushing it open without a second thought. Most of the guys were half naked when she walked in; some coming out of the showers and some changing into suitable clothing, but she barely took notice of that, she just kept walking further into the long locker room, her mind on one thing.

She looked into the separate wings of the locker room, getting cursed at by most of the guys who were surprised to see her in the boys' locker room. When she spotted the boys she wanted to see she stopped there, catching her breath as the guys laughed and talked.

"Chad!" She hissed, causing the guys who were gathered there to turn around, all surprised to see her in the doorway. "Where is my stuff?"

"Where do you think it is?" He asked with a chuckle, seeing that she was red with anger and that there was a small layer of sweat on her forehead because of the steam filled locker room.

Gabriella threw her hands up in the air, letting them fall back against her thighs as she shook her head. She looked around to see if Troy was there, but he wasn't and when she made eye contact with Jason, he looked away quickly, not wanting to get involved.

"I'm not dumb, Danforth. You have my work." She said, looking around again to hurry the process of finding her stuff up.

"Yeah, well, find it yourself." Chad shrugged, running a towel through his damp hair. Gabriella's eyes observed his wet hair, getting an idea of where her books and papers could be.

"Why are there books and binders in the showers?" She heard Zeke say behind her, stopping his sentence quickly when he saw that she was standing there. He awkwardly covered his bare chest with his arms as he crossed them in front of him, not wanting his girlfriend's best friend seeing him half naked.

Gabriella moved past Zeke, hearing the crowd of guys following her as she went towards the showers, past the coaches' office where Mr. Bolton was now leaping from his chair, coming out of his area.

She stopped by the showers slowly when she got there, seeing a few of the guys filing in them to get a better look at her soggy papers and books that were spread out on the watery floor. She couldn't help but get somewhat emotional about it. Her paper that she worked hours on was dissolving in the wetness and she knew that her English teacher wasn't one to take excuses. Her books were ruined and she knew the school would make her pay to replace them. She sighed, running her hand through her hair as she felt a comforting hand on her arm.

Zeke gave her a reassuring look and she faked a smile as she turned around to see Chad leaning against the wall about ten feet away from her, looking on in amusement. Mr. Bolton was pushing through his team, shaking his head at the scene. Chad stood up straight as he saw her coming over to him with mixed emotions appearing on her face and he smirked as he heard the locker room door open as someone came in.

"Thanks a lot, Chad. I really appreciate it." Gabriella nodded angrily.

Chad just laughed, looking at her with pity, just like the cheerleader in the hallway had and as he was about to forget about the incident for good, like it meant nothing at all, Gabriella forcefully slapped him across the face, causing an echo of gasps come from behind her and a scary look to appear on Chad's face.

As Gabriella turned quickly, wanting to get away from him as he was obviously about to lung at her, she saw Troy standing by the locker room door dressed in a black and red warm up outfit that read 'Red Hawks' on the front. A black bag was slung over his shoulder, holding all of his basketball gear.

He was still as he watched her angry features turn into one of regret as she walked towards the door behind him and in the scene beyond her, Zeke was holding Chad back from going after her, while his dad, grabbed Chad by the collar, forcefully pulling him into his office.

"Gabriella…" Troy started as she grabbed the handle of the door, stopping from pulling it open as he looked down at her.

"I just want my stuff back." She said with tears in her eyes. "Please."

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"Just wait here."

Troy heard his mom's voice in his head, telling him that the girl who makes miracles happen can never wait and he grabbed Gabriella's hand, sighing. He changed his mind, hoping that if she wanted to, she'd come with him.

"Just come with me." He said to her, feeling her hand tense in his.

"I don't want to go with you." She admitted pulling his hand so he'd turn to look at her.

"I have to tell Chad, Gabs. He needs to know now, I can't take it anymore." He explained, tugging again at her hand. He had the greatest morning at the University of Albuquerque, hanging out with a few of the players and he had even forgotten somewhat about the night with Gabriella and now Chad was ruining his almost perfect moment.

"No. I don't feel comfortable facing him right now."

"Are you afraid he'll do something to you?"

"He hasn't given me reason not to be." Gabriella explained to him.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Troy told her.

Gabriella didn't budge though as he pulled at her hand, wanting her to follow him because deep down inside she didn't believe him; that scared even her. She shook her head, swallowing as she tried to look tough.

"You'll be fine without me." She said, seeing a disappointed expression on his face. "I'll see you later."

As her hand fell back to her side and the feeling of his disappeared from hers, she had a gut feeling as she left the locker room that that would be the last time he held her hand lovingly because knowing Chad, he'd be sure to change Troy's mind the second he found out about them.

***

Gabriella had come home after the incident at school and had sent her paper to the English teacher instead of having to face her with an excuse. She was emotionally drained as she sunk into her desk chair after getting something to eat in the kitchen and she ran her hand over her face to try to rub out the sadness that must have been clear on it.

During her phone call with her mom, her mom had told her again, that guys are only mean to girls because they liked them. Gabriella tried hard to convince herself of that too, but when she hung up with a long goodbye, she still didn't believe that explanation because assumptions like that were made for girls who came home crying in the third grade because of a painless sandbox incident, not for a senior in high school.

Later, after a long shower and dinner, the door bell rang, causing Gabriella to lazily get up from the family room couch, walking over to the door slowly. When she saw Troy through the window, she picked up her pace, unsure if seeing him come to the front door was a good sign.

"Oh my God, Troy, are you okay?" Gabriella's said quickly as she ushered Troy into her dark house after seeing the blue and black rim around his eye, one obviously marked by a fist.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing." He told her calmly as he put his hands in his pocket, obviously uncomfortable.

"You need something on that." She said as she put her hand on his back, pushing him with her as she went into the laundry room where they kept their medical supplies.

"Really, Gabriella, I'm fine."

"Don't argue with me." The sternness in her voice shocked him and he did what he was told, leaning against the dryer as she fished through a basket of disinfectants and band aids, one that Troy had a feeling she used often thanks to his friends. "I told you this was a bad idea."

"The bad idea was keeping it from him."

"Yeah, and whose idea was that?" She asked him quickly, dabbing a cotton ball into some kind of cream, still upset about today's events.

Troy didn't answer her because he had a feeling she didn't want one. He could feel the quietness of the house causing goose bumps to form on his arms and when she turned to him, cotton ball ready to perform its task, he saw the way her eyes had darkened in anger. When the cold substance on the cotton ball touched his skin, he felt the sting instantly around his eye and without thinking; he grabbed her wrist, wincing in pain as he realized the severity of his injury.

"Troy." He heard Gabriella said weakly, making him open his eyes from their tight close.

He saw her fearful eyes first and then the whitening skin of his knuckles as he held her hand away from him. He released her quickly, noticing how she stumbled slightly at the quickness of his action.

"I'm sorry." He said his voice cracking. "It hurt."

He could tell she was holding back a comment as she finished cleaning the cut by his eye and after putting a small band aid on it, one that was barely seen against his flesh, he sighed, needing to get this over with.

"Gabriella, this isn't…"

"I know." She said to him, looking down at the bloody cotton ball on the washer machine. Her eyes couldn't be seen by him now, but he knew he would have seen hurt clear in them.

"Going to work out." She finished for him.

"Yeah." He said softly, watching as she stepped away from him, throwing the medical set back into the cabinet. "It's easier…"

"Hating love."

Troy nodded, following her quickly as she left him in the laundry room, making her way towards the stairs. He picked up his pace, stopping at the edge of the stairs as she made her way up them.

"Gabriella…" He started.

"Go get hit by a bus, Bolton." She spat harshly as she stopped at the center of the stairs, watching him back up to the front door.

Troy felt a lump in his throat forming as he looked at the glass door that was separating him from the outside. He hesitantly pressed his hand against the glass, leaving a barely visible hand print in the center of it before leaving, knowing that if she was going to go back to their old ways, he would too, but in a way, his _paw_ _print_ that he left behind was a lot more heart breaking than her remark because it hung around for a little bit, disappearing as he did into his car.

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**unknownbyhim22**


	15. Fighting

**My computer has risen from the dead. We were getting a new hard drive on our computer and my mother went without consulting me first, so I had no way of saving my chapters to FanFiction. Well, I'm really dissapointed in myself... I became the writer who waits forever to update; my truest petpeeve... so I'm sorry for that. **

**Previously on LL: Troy and Gabriella broke up and went back to their old ways after Troy was punched by Chad. **

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Loving Love

Chapter fifteen

Fighting

Gabriella didn't know how to feel after her break up with Troy and to be honest she was happier that their breakup wasn't a traditional screaming match, one that always ended in tears. Thankfully for her, their relationship ended in an agreement that going back to their old ways would be for the best, but deep down inside, Gabriella knew otherwise.

Working with a broken heart, some say, is a bad idea, but Gabriella would deny any assumptions that her heart was ever in the relationship. Unfortunately though, Gabriella wasn't good at hiding anything, whether a bruise on her arm or in her current case, a broken heart.

The diner was full and Stephanie had thankfully brought along a new waitress to help both herself and Gabriella out. The customers that had the unwanted task of trying to cheer Gabriella up frowned each time she came over and tossed a plate on their table without asking if they needed anything else.

There were a few West High Knights sitting in the corner of the diner by the bathrooms and they were noticeably checking Gabriella out as she visibly fumed with anger. Obviously, when Gabriella was hurt in any way, she responded with anger instead of tears or sadness, although if you were close enough to her, she'd admit that she wanted to cry her eyes out until she couldn't any longer.

"Gabriella," Karen, the owner of the restaurant, said as she walked out of the kitchen over to where Gabriella was setting George's meal down. "Why don't you take a break?"

"I don't need one." Gabriella replied as she pulled a straw out of her apron and tossed it onto George's lone table.

"Please take a break." Karen said more sternly.

Gabriella exchanged a look with her, wanting her to let her know where-the-heck she should take her break at in the crowded restaurant.

"You can keep me company, Miss Gabriella." George said with a smile, patting the other side of the table with his wrinkly hand.

Gabriella sighed as she hesitantly sat down in front of him, watching as Karen went back into the kitchen after seeing that Gabriella wouldn't be doing any more damage to her customers.

"God, it's like she thinks she _owns_ this place." Gabriella grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest angrily.

"She does." George smiled, sprinkling some salt into his chicken noodle soup.

"Yeah, well." Gabriella sighed, not sure how to respond to the comeback to her tantrum.

"So, what's happened with you lately?" George asked curiously as he sipped the soup from the pool of liquid on his spoon.

"Well, to be quite honest with you, I've been having a really bad week." Gabriella told him with a nod, rubbing her forehead as she leaned against the table now.

"I wouldn't have been able to tell." He said sarcastically, smiling at her when she looked up at him in disbelief. "Why has your week been bad?"

"My boyfriend and I broke up, which, is somewhat of a relief, you know because it was a total waste of time and he came here _all_ of the time and just sat here to keep me company, God. And then his sister was always so happy to see me when I went to his house… now I don't have to see her ever again… or his parents because they were always looking at me like they were so proud. But! They didn't even know me! And at school, God, at school everyone can just go back to normal and I don't have to be such a liar to all of my friends!"

George's spoon rested above his soup as he stared at her in surprise, wondering if she realized that she was rambling, which she soon figured out as she came to a stop, blinking a few times when she noticed that he was watching her.

"Sorry." She said quietly.

"Looks to me like you liked this boy a lot." George assumed.

"Not anymore. We're going back to our old ways." She explained with an eye roll as she thought of Troy.

"You're going back to fighting and hurting each other?" He asked somewhat sadly.

Gabriella drew back in surprise, leaning against the booth behind her as she looked at him suspiciously.

"How do you know that was our old ways?" Gabriella asked him.

"I live next door to a very verbal Wildcat." George explained.

"Who do you live next door to?"

"It's confidential." George smiled at her, adding pepper this time into his soup. "If you don't mind me asking; what was the cause of your break up?"

Gabriella ran her tongue over her front teeth, thinking momentarily about the memories that she wanted so badly to forget. She shook her head, not really wanting to say it, but when she looked at the old man, something about the way he wanted to know made her explain.

"His best friend and I hate each other. There's a lot of bullying that went on before Troy and I started to date. His best friend tormented me and my friends because we weren't on the same popularity level as he was and surprisingly, my boyfriend did too."

"That's too bad." George nodded in understanding. "My advice would be to talk to his best friend and figure out your differences."

Gabriella shook her head, smiling softly at the old man who was just trying to help.

"I wish I could." Gabriella nodded. "It would be worth it to get Troy back, but at the same time; I'm done fighting with these people." There were tears in her eyes as she told him this, but she quickly blinked them back as George said his last piece of advice.

"Sometimes fighting one last time for the things that made you stop fighting in the first time is worth it in the long run."

Gabriella nodded softly, taking a deep breath as she scouted out of the booth and back into the walk way of the rush of the customers. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and looked down at George.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked him quietly.

"Just one of your smiles." He said with a smile of his own, wanting to see the bubbly waitress that he usually saw.

Gabriella smiled her usual smile for him, walking away quickly after seeing he needed nothing more. Sadly, she faked it.

***

Troy ran a towel through his damp hair as he walked out of his bathroom, tossing the towel onto his floor carelessly when he heard his mom call him down for dinner. He had been avoiding everyone but his dad since his break up with Gabriella and his encounter with Chad and as he walked down the stairs he knew why he had been avoiding his family.

"Troy! What happened to your eye?" Mrs. Bolton asked frantically as he appeared in the kitchen, walking towards the table lazily.

"Nothing." He replied in a monotone as he sat in his usual seat across from his sister.

"That doesn't look like nothing. Tell me what happened!"

"It's nothing to talk about during dinner." Mr. Bolton interrupted, taking his seat at the head of the table as his wife sat across from him.

Mrs. Bolton kept her eyes on her son as he got his food without saying anything else and she shook her head as she saw that the side of his face was badly bruised, although the small bandage on the side of it made it clear that Troy, or even someone else, had already cared for the brunt of the damage.

"How was everyone's day?" Mr. Bolton asked with a smile, glancing momentarily over at Troy who didn't respond at all to his question.

"Boring." Bailey answered to her father as she speared a cooked carrot with her fork.

"There were a few young boys who came into the emergency room today." Mrs. Bolton added. "They got into some kind of fight… you wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?" She asked Troy.

Troy sighed, rolling his eyes since it had been a few days since his injury had been inflicted upon him and he would obviously have nothing to do with a bunch of punks coming into the ER today.

"Are you going to answer me or are you just going to ignore me?" Mrs. Bolton asked her son somewhat angrily, wanting to know what exactly was going on with him.

"Mariah, leave him alone, he doesn't want to talk." Mr. Bolton said calmly from the other side of the table.

"There has to be something wrong with him." Bailey said suddenly, looking over at her brother. "He was singing 'Don't Forget' by Demi Lovato in the shower today."

"I was not!" Troy said loudly to his sister, seeing her spit her tongue out at him because of his loud objection.

"Were too!"

"God, from now on, we're listening to my music when I pick you up from school!" Troy said angrily, as he shook his head at his mocking little sister.

"Ha! You admit it!" Bailey spat.

"Will you just freaking shut up, Bailey?!" Troy yelled even louder at her, causing her to coward back in her seat slightly as Mr. Bolton yelled at him about using that tone of voice with his sister.

"Troy." Mrs. Bolton started quietly. "Just tell us what happened."

"I broke up with Gabriella, OKAY?" He announced loudly to his family, seeing Bailey's eyes darken with anger as she dropped her fork onto her plate, crossing her arms over her chest in protest.

"Why'd you do that? Too afraid of commitment?" Bailey teased him.

"Shut up." Troy growled as he too dropped his fork onto his plate.

"No!" Bailey shouted. "You're the dumb ass that can't even say the word love without cringing!" She said, getting scolded by her parents, only to continue seconds later as her anger rose. "What'd she do that was so bad, huh? Admit that she loved you?"

"Come on now, Bailey, you don't know what your brother's relationship with Gabriella was like." Mr. Bolton said to his daughter quietly.

"I do know that my own brother is a big coward, though!" Bailey said angrily. "So tell us all what happened, bro." She spat. "Or are you too good for the truth?"

Troy's anger crept further up his throat as he tried to find a way to calmly explain the decision to break up with Gabriella. He looked down at his food in disgust before he looked back up at his sister, noticing now that the kitchen was extremely quiet.

"No, Bailey." He said through his teeth, trying to be nice. "_I_ told her that I loved her and _she _didn't say it back, and then I was punched by my own best friend after I told him the truth about me and Gabriella." Troy said. "So don't go around saying that I'm the God damn coward, because I'm the one who tried to fix this instead of giving up on us! I'm the one who fell in love, not Gabriella!"

Troy pushed back his chair angrily, roaring with madness as it crashed forcefully onto the ground as his sister insisted that she hated him even more now because Gabriella was the victim in the situation.

"Troy, sit back down!" Mrs. Bolton said to him loudly as he began to walk across the kitchen to get out of there.

"I'm not hungry." Troy replied as his footsteps were soon heard going up the stairs, and then as the rest of his family sat quietly, the sound of his door slamming forcefully was heard clearly.

Bailey stood up quickly as tears appeared in her eyes, pulling the back door open before running out into the backyard, towards her brother's tree house, and up the ladder swiftly as she disappeared in the large wooden house to think about how mad she was.

***

Gabriella had thought a lot about George's advice to talk to Chad, but until now she hadn't acted on it. She was currently sitting in her car, staring out at the colorful children's play area of Chucky Cheese's where inside she could see her target of interest in his corny purple t-shirt, trying to get the screaming kids off of his legs. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, knowing that some how Chad couldn't be as bad as he seemed, but at the same time, she couldn't make herself go in.

As a mother with two kids came out of the play area and into the parking lot, Gabriella was still trying to get herself to open her car door to make her way inside, but as her hand was pulling on the handle of her car, Chad came out of his work place, calling after the family as he waved a lost shoe in his hand.

The oldest kid smiled at him thankfully as his shoe was returned to him and as Chad began walking back to work, Gabriella finally stepped out of her car, shutting her door loudly to maybe get his attention.

Chad glanced behind him when he heard the slamming door and was unpleasantly surprised to see Gabriella Montez walking towards him, nervous as she should be.

"What are you doing here? This is a bitch free zone." He grumbled as he entered back into the building with her following quickly behind.

"I was hoping I could talk to you for a second." Gabriella explained out-of-breath already as he weaved easily around the many kids.

"I'm working." He replied as he caught a flying plastic ball easily that was close to hitting his head, tossing it back to the brat who was brave enough to throw it at him. "Throw it at her next time, buddy." Chad smiled as he pointed to her, giving the boy a thumbs up.

"Hey, dude, your break started ten minutes ago." A guy in a similar t-shirt said to Chad with a cheesy smile.

"So you have time to talk." Gabriella said to him, getting an annoyed glare from him.

"Not really." He said as he began to walk away from her.

"I'll buy you a pizza." She offered, seeing him turn back her way slowly.

"If you throw in a soda, I'll consider it."

"Deal."

At first, Chad barely looked at Gabriella as they both sat in the booth in the eating area where his co-workers walked around with happy smiles and with kids hanging off of their every limb.

"So, what do you want to talk about, Montez?" Chad asked with a full mouth of pizza a few minutes after they had sat down.

"I was hoping we could talk about your friendship with Troy." She said persuasively, clearing her throat awkwardly as she set her hands in her lap.

"That's easy. We're not friends any more." Chad answered. "Now you can leave because we had our talk."

"Nice try." Gabriella replied. "Listen, Chad. You and Troy have been friends your whole life and it would be stupid of you to throw that away."

"Are you calling me stupid?" Chad asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Yes!" Gabriella exclaimed with a sigh. "You have to forgive Troy."

"Why should I? He lied to me."

"Like you've never lied to him before?" Gabriella said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have once, but that was because his parents were throwing him a sweet sixteen party and I had to pretend I knew nothing about it, but Troy lied to me about something bigger than a stupid party." Chad explained, causing Gabriella to smile softly at the boys' friendship.

"What's bigger than a stupid party?" Gabriella asked him, wanting to know why he was so mad.

"You." Chad said quietly.

"Chad, Troy broke up with me." Gabriella said just as quietly back, seeing the somewhat guilty look appear on Chad's face.

"When?"

"Right after you punched him he came over and broke up with me. He said it was easier that way." She said as she swallowed roughly, glancing down at the half eaten pizza.

"Gabriella, I hate you, okay? More than anyone ever will and I like hating you… but fighting over you with my best friend just seems stupid now." Chad said to her. "And he shouldn't have broken up with you just because I hate you."

"But you didn't give him any other choice, Chad." Gabriella said in a pleading voice as if trying to get this information into his brain.

"Yeah, but he loves you."

Gabriella breathed deeply as she glanced again at the pizza in between them. Every time she heard that, she had a hard time believing it.

"How do you know that?"

"Because my best friend wouldn't have lied to me about you if he _didn't_ love you." Chad replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I didn't come here to hear that. I came here to make sure that in the next hour he has his best friend back." She smiled softly, feeling herself relax slightly as they became more comfortable with being by each other with out trying to kill each other.

"I can't promise anything, but I'll talk to him again." Chad replied. "I actually have something for you." He said as he opened the backpack that he had brought with him to the table. He pulled out a large pile of books and papers and set it in front of her. "Coach made me hand dry everything with a hair dryer." He explained. "Not everything got wet."

"Thanks." Gabriella nodded.

"So, what now?" Chad asked. "What happens with you and Troy?"

"We stay the way we are." Gabriella replied.

"Is that what you want?"

Gabriella shrugged, sighing.

"It's what needs to happen." She nodded as she stood up from the booth, picking her books and papers up with her. "Oh, and Chad…" She began, causing him to look up from the pizza in front of him. "Maybe if you feel like changing the status quo at school, Taylor will give you a second chance."

Chad's mouth fell open in shock, clearly not expecting this.

"Did he tell you?!" He asked somewhat angrily.

"No. I was in the tree house when you came over."

"Did you sneeze?" Chad asked in surprise, knowing that he wasn't hearing things that night.

"No, that was Bailey."

"Damn."

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**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	16. Loving Love

**Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad to see that everyone stuck with me after all of the time away from my computer. Here's the last chapter! I have three oneshots to post, so keep your eyes open for those! Also, a new story from me should be appearing in a couple of weeks... **

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Loving Love

Chapter sixteen

Loving Love

When Ms. Montez came home from work the next day, she set her bag on the kitchen counter and as she neared the stairs so that she could go to her room to change out of her work clothes she heard her daughter crying in her room, causing her to become instantly concerned as she neared the room where the door was cracked open slightly.

Pushing the door open, the crying from her daughter became louder as she stepped into her room, seeing Gabriella in sweats and a pony tail pulling her hair up into a messy bun. She was lying on her bed limply, holding a book close to her chest.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Ms. Montez asked quietly as she sat down on her daughter's bed, placing her hand on her arm as she rubbed it softly.

Gabriella simply handed her the book, one that she had found hidden among the pile of books and papers that Chad had given back to her. Apparently, Troy had left the book 'Thank You' by Tom Tee in her locker before school that day Chad had decided to sabotage her stuff and she didn't find it until today. Ms. Montez opened the book slowly, running her hand carefully over the message written on the inside of it with navy blue pen.

"Gabs—" Ms. Montez started reading from the page. "I'm sorry it took a while for me to find this. I actually read it before I gave it to you since I've never heard of it before you mentioned it. It definitely is a good read. Ha."

"I guess this would be the appropriate time to thank you for giving me a chance, considering the title of the book is oddly _thank you_. I guess you can never judge someone without knowing them. I won't say much… I'm sure I'll be talking to you soon, so I'll save other things to say to you for later. 'L' word, Troy."

Ms. Montez smiled as she finished reading the message from Troy.

"It's too bad you let this one go." She said as she handed the book back to her daughter, who was now looking at her offended.

"I didn't _let_ him go, Mom. I agreed with him that being apart would be easier for the both of us."

"And now you've realized differently." Ms. Montez stated as she looked down at her daughter.

"All that I've realized since we broke up is that hating love really sucks." She cried softly, feeling her mom's comforting hand on her arm again.

"Change that then." Ms. Montez replied. "Love love. Go talk to him."

"Why do I have to go talk to everyone? Why can't other people take the initiative and come after me?" Gabriella asked in a whine.

"What is this 'A Cinderella Story'?" Ms. Montez asked. "In the real world, the girl can't wait on the guy to make the first move."

"Mom!" Gabriella cried from her spot on her bed. "You're not helping."

"I'm sorry, Gabi." She smiled softly. "I'm going to make dinner and you should really think about this, okay? Once you find someone who loves you as much as you hate love, you have to keep him around."

Gabriella sighed as her mom left slowly, realizing that if you wanted to feel better about certain things, you definitely shouldn't go to your mom, because they never make you feel good about things that you have no intention on changing…

***

Troy slipped on his black converse at the kitchen table, feeling the warmth of his black hoodie as it rested over his head. Every room in the house was lit with candles because his mom had decided to clean out their candle cabinet and wanted to use them all up before she went to buy new ones. Now, Troy was escaping the vanilla scented house to take a much needed trip to his tree house.

"Where are you going?" He heard his sister ask from the stairs by the kitchen, when he stood up to go to the back door.

"Tree house to think." He replied simply as he opened the door.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Bailey said with a sigh, walking over to him cautiously.

"Did Dad tell you to say this to me?" He asked.

"No, I realized when I was in the tree house that I have no idea what love is and that I shouldn't be telling you about it. I'm sorry." She whispered as she looked down at her fidgeting feet as she stood by her brother.

Troy tilted his head back as he sighed, looking up at the ceiling momentarily before feeling his sister hugging him tightly around the waist. He smiled softly as he knelt down in front of her so that he was at her level and hugged her back with one of his signature bear hugs.

"Don't feel bad, sis." He said while hugging her. "I don't know what love is either, anyways." He chuckled.

"Is that why you were singing 'What is Love?' in the shower?" She smiled as they pulled away from each other.

"Bailey…" He groaned.

"Sorry." She giggled softly. "Go to your tree house already." She told him as she began to walk back towards the stairs by the kitchen.

Troy smirked as he stepped out of his house, closing the back door behind him before he began to make the walk to his tree house. There were twinkling lights lighting up the backyard and the glow of the house added with the glow of those lights definitely gave the backyard a romantic look, one that he could have lived without seeing.

He climbed the length of the ladder and easily got into his tree house, sitting against the side of the back wall, hitting his head against it softly as he closed his eyes, not wanting to look around at the familiar memorabilia in the house.

A barking dog could be heard in the distance and crickets were barely audible as he inhaled the cool night air. When he heard the movement of the tree house's ladder, he sighed, shaking his head.

"Bailey, I know we had a moment in there, but I'm trying to think." He called out.

"Is it okay if I come up then?" He heard a soft voice say, causing him to open his eyes quickly.

Gabriella was standing in the door of the tree house, her hair still in a lazy bun from earlier that day. She was wearing no shoes which on a normal day would have made Troy smile, but today it wasn't anything worth smiling about. She had on dark skinny jeans and a dark grey East High hoodie.

"I guess." Troy shrugged.

Gabriella hesitated before sitting down in front of him, leaving a good amount of space between them. Troy glanced at her for a second, before turning his head away from looking at her, blocking his view somewhat with the hood of his hoodie.

"Your eye looks better." Gabriella said quietly again, noticing his lighter bruise.

Troy nodded as he slowly pushed his hood off of his head, feeling somewhat more vulnerable as he did so. He rested his arms on his knees as they bent in front of him.

"So." Gabriella said with an awkward nod, feeling like she was in third grade again, not knowing what to say as she sat in the kiddish tree house.

"Why are you here?"

The coldness in Troy's voice felt like a stab in the heart to Gabriella and she cleared her throat before answering his question.

"My mom advised me to stop by."

"Why?" He asked quietly.

"She read the message in the book you left me." Gabriella answered in a whisper, feeling her eyes watering now that she was seeing him angry again.

"Oh, so you got the book?"

"Just found it today."

Troy shrugged, glancing at her again because looking at her directly was still difficult now that they were no longer together.

"Yeah, well." He replied shortly, not knowing how to respond. "I heard you talked to Chad about me."

Gabriella nodded silently as she kept her eyes on him.

"I had to."

"No you didn't." He answered quickly.

"I was the reason why you both stopped being friends. It was my responsibility to fix what I ruined."

"You didn't ruin it." Troy said to her, looking at her now that she was glancing away from him. "I lied, I messed up."

"Maybe." Gabriella shrugged.

They didn't say anything after that, both of them just stared at the floor of the tree house, trying to think of why they were even giving the other the time of day. Gabriella's sniffling brought Troy from his thoughts, saying something that had been on his mind.

"You didn't say you loved me back that day at the book store." Troy said quietly as he watched Gabriella's gaze lift to meet his own. "Why?"

"Troy, you have to understand that…" She stopped mid-sentence shaking her head, not knowing what to say to his hard question.

"Gabriella, I've never told anyone that before and when I do, the person who finally got the word out of me runs away. How do you think that made me feel?" Troy asked her, feeling his voice cracking slightly.

Tears were streaming down her face when Troy looked up from his focus on the floor and he was surprised as he watched them steadily stream down her face. It was the first time he'd ever seen her cry and it made him want to pull her close to him and to tell her that she would be okay.

"I loved loving you. I loved you and it _scared me_." Gabriella admitted as tears stained her cheeks, her eyes burning with hot tears as she felt a sob stuck in her throat. "We weren't meant to be together and at the time I really believed that… I believed that Chad was right in hating me and you for dating. At the same time, I couldn't help but realize that with you, I loved love."

Troy swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded, watching as she stood up from her spot on the floor.

"But I know that I screwed up and that not telling you this sooner was my fault, so I'll just leave you to think." She nodded, turning to go towards the door of the tree house, but she felt Troy grab her hand as he stood up too.

She turned around to look at him, feeling her breath catch in her throat as he pulled her towards him into a kiss, his hand keeping her securely against him as it rested on the back of her neck. She slowly brought her arms around his neck as they kissed roughly. Troy pulled away first, looking into her eyes sincerely.

"I love you, Gabriella." He smiled softly, rubbing her cheek with his thumb as his hand still rested on her neck.

"I love you too." She said with a soft giggle, feeling better now that she could finally say it to him.

"I was hoping you'd say so." He replied as he captured her lips with his again, pulling her closer as they stood in the middle of the tree house, laughing quietly as they thought of their eventful week without each other.

***

Troy held Gabriella's hand as they walked carefully down the row of comfortable chairs, both of them trying not to step on anyone's feet as they maneuvered their way back to their seats.

"Come on, dude! That was my foot!" Zeke said to Troy as Gabriella giggled loudly from behind Troy, seeing that her boyfriend had in fact stepped on his friend's foot.

"You're blocking our view!" Brian, one of Troy's teammates said as he sat behind the row Zeke was in with the rest of the team, laughing as they all shoved Troy over to his seat so that the scene they were watching wouldn't be blocked.

Chad laughed as he sat next to Taylor who was sitting next to Zeke and Sharpay as he saw that Troy was being harassed by the team. It was currently half time at the NBA Finals, and after weeks of begging and making it up to the girls after years of teasing and fighting, Sharpay decided that she would take the rest of the team with her to the game.

Gabriella leaned against Troy as she laughed while her hand was still in his as they sat in their seats next to Sharpay and Zeke. Troy gave her a happy smile and he winked at her, thinking her Lakers jersey made her look even more beautiful than usual. He looked around at his team as they gladly watched the Lakers dance team out on the floor and he chuckled as they all too matched in the same Lakers jersey that Gabriella was wearing.

Minutes later when the dance team was filing off, the large screens above the center of the floor blinking obnoxiously as the Kiss Cam came on, embarrassing unexpected couples as it landed on them, forcing them to kiss in front of the crowd of people lucky enough to be there in the first place.

The team hooted and hollered when the Kiss Cam landed on Taylor and Chad, and Taylor shook her head in protest as she looked over at Chad with a shaking finger that indicated that he better not kiss her.

"Don't even think about it, Danforth." She said quickly, seeing him laughing as his teammates sitting behind him patted him on the back and messed with his crazy hair.

"Come on, Mckessie, I can't even think about it?" Chad asked in response, seeing that they were still being broadcasted on the Kiss Cam.

"No, Danforth. There's no way I'm going to let you—"

Taylor was cut off as Chad shrugged quickly, leaning over the arm rest in between them so that he could kiss her and when he did, the crowd cheered, causing both Taylor and Chad to pull away laughing.

"Looks like they were routing for us." Chad chuckled as he looked at a blushing Taylor.

"Haha." She replied in a monotone, shooting a look over at Troy and Gabriella who were laughing loudly together as they saw that their friends were in the same position they were in when they first started dating.

The team's attention turned back to the game which was starting again and most of them forgot about the kiss because they didn't see the big deal about it, but as everyone got to their feet to cheer loudly because the Lakers got another basket, Taylor looked over at Chad, laughing as he jumped up and down with a complete stranger next to him, seeing now that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't that bad of a guy… and that since Troy and Gabriella closed the gap between jocks and nerds, she wouldn't have a problem being with him if that is how it turned out.

Once again, the groups of friends were screaming and cheering a good amount of time later as the Lakers jumped around on the floor together because they had just won the NBA Finals. The couples hugged each other tightly and Zeke exclaimed his happiness to Sharpay in excitement.

"You are the best, do you know that?!" Zeke asked his girlfriend who was responsible for getting them all tickets.

Sharpay laughed and before she could respond, Zeke was kissing her excitedly, laughing with her too as he pulled away, hugging her again. The team sitting behind them, jumped down to the row they were sitting in, joining the couples as they all continued to scream in excitement.

"Thanks, girls!" A few of them said, knowing that it was because of them that they got to go.

As the three girls laughed, realizing now that they had a few more friends than they started with, everyone joined in on a group hug, one that was extremely tight, she slowly looked up at him, seeing that he was now happier than ever since his team was accepting his girlfriend and her friends.

Troy kissed Gabriella softly as they stood in the center of friends, and as they looked into each other's eyes they loved that love wasn't so bad when they were loving each other. considering they were all sharing a space only meant for six people. Gabriella's face was buried against Troy's neck as she was squished by the excited team.

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**unknownbyhim22**


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